An earthquake shook the panhandle of Texas early Thursday, and people felt it over 100 miles away in Kansas.
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) data showed the 5.0 quake’s epicenter was just over 20 miles southeast of Spearman, Texas, KWCH reported.
“The initial report shows that it could be felt as far away as an area near Kinsley, about 40 miles east of Dodge City. This is about 200 miles from the epicenter,” the report said. “The quake could also be felt throughout areas of western Oklahoma, as far east as Lawton, 53 miles north of Wichita Falls, Texas, and 85 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.”
According to Michigan Tech, earthquakes up to 5.4 magnitude are often felt but cause no major damage; about 500,000 of them occur every year.
The USGS website explained what earthquakes are and how scientists record them:
An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface where they slip is called the fault or fault plane. The location below the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter, and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter.
…
Earthquakes are recorded by instruments called seismographs. The recording they make is called a seismogram. The seismograph has a base that sets firmly in the ground, and a heavy weight that hangs free. When an earthquake causes the ground to shake, the base of the seismograph shakes too, but the hanging weight does not. Instead the spring or string that it is hanging from absorbs all the movement. The difference in position between the shaking part of the seismograph and the motionless part is what is recorded.
The quake struck the panhandle a few minutes before 5:30 a.m. local time. Fox Weather cited USGS scientists who said its epicenter was 3.42 miles below the surface.
“According to the USGS earthquake catalog, this was the strongest earthquake recorded in the Texas Panhandle and only the fourth magnitude 4.0 or stronger earthquake to strike the region since 1900,” the outlet said, adding there were no reports of injuries or damage to structures so far.