EARTHQUAKE
loading...

East Texas has been rocked by several earthquakes in recent years, and many area residents want to know why.

A new study by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin finds that it's not just mother nature. The findings show that human activity has been a factor in earthquakes throughout the state for about 100 years.

Details of this study are being published this week in the journal Seismological Research Letters. The Dallas Morning News reports the study concludes that work in the oil and gas industry  "almost certainly" or "probably" triggered 59 percent of the earthquakes detected across the state in 1975-2015, including recent seismic activity in North Texas.

The report goes on to claim that another 28 percent of the quakes were "possibly" triggered by oil and gas exploration and production, and just 13 percent were caused naturally.

Timpson, Texas has been the hardest hit over the past five years reporting 6 earthquakes during that time frame. Timpson has recorded 18 earthquakes since 1931. But Timpson is not the only town reporting more quakes in the past few years. Several East Texas communities have also been rocked,

 

 

More From 1130 The Tiger