Did You Feel The Magnitude 5.3 Earthquake in Texas Today?

In the early hours of Wednesday, November 8th, 2023, the western part of Texas was hit by an earthquake. The quake was reportedly the fourth largest quake to hit our state in the last 123 years and measured at a magnitude of 5.3 on the Richter Scale.

Residents in the area of El Paso and southeastern New Mexico were woken up by the earthquake at 4:27 a.m., but so far, no injuries or damages have been reported.

Texas has experienced over 200 earthquakes at magnitudes of 3.0 or higher since the earliest recorded Texas quake in February of 1947. The largest recorded earthquake in the Lone Star State happened on August 16th, 1931 in the city of Valentine and registered at a magnitude of 6.0.

To put today's earthquake measurement into perspective, the largest earthquake ever recorded registered at a magnitude of 9.5 on the Richter Scale. It happened back in 1960 in Valdivia, Chile, and its effects left roughly two million people homeless.

According to the Texas Almanac, only one Texas earthquake has ever caused a death. Back in March of 1923, a man's adobe home in Juarez, Mexico collapsed as a result of a quake that occurred in Texas. The epicenter of it was located in close proximity to today's earthquake in the El Paso area.

I remember a few years ago in Lubbock, Texas, some residents felt a bit of residual aftershock from an earthquake that happened. Many of us didn't notice anything at all. If I remember correctly, I slept through the entire thing on my couch.

Did you feel today's earthquake from where you are in Texas? Have you ever experienced one elsewhere? I'd love to hear about it. Feel free to email me at Chrissy.Covington@townsquaremedia.com.