A strong magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck western Texas on Wednesday, an alert issued by the US Geological Survey has confirmed.
The quake struck at a depth of 8.9 kilometers, with its epicenter being recorded some 47 kilometers from Pecos, Texas.
Anthony Franze, who serves as local chief meteorologist, noted that the quake was the third strongest to "ever" hit the state, as well as the strongest recorded by officials since the mid-1990s.
Residents flocking to the EMSC's testimony collection noted that the quake was strong enough to rattle their homes, with some noting that "things shook, significantly noticeable" for "several seconds."
"The floor of the house was shaking long enough for my son to come find me and ask what was happening, the house was still shaking," said one individual located over 150 kilometers from the epicenter.
Another user situated 244 miles from the epicenter wrote: "Blinds on the house started swinging and desk was rattling. Nothing fell off the walls but it was most certainly felt."
A Texas-based Sputnik correspondent described the incident as "small quake" but one that may have been related to the abundant fracking in west Texas.
Hydraulic fracking practices see mass amounts of water and oil being ejected from the ground at drilling sites but what's prompting the rise in earthquakes is the process of reinjecting sludgy water back underground. Experts have indicated that the move puts as much pressure on faults as those seen on fault lines in California.
An April Bloomberg report found that the constant drilling in the state's Permian Basin has seen earthquake reports skyrocket in Texas, with the state having reported some 59 quakes in the first three months of 2022. An earlier analysis by the Texas Tribune also determined that the state experienced over 200 earthquakes in 2021 that measured at a magnitude 3.0 or greater.