Two minor earthquakes shook the Dallas-Fort Worth area overnight, waking residents, setting off car alarms and spooking pets. But no major damage was reported.
The U.S. Geological Survey says a 2.5-magnitude earthquake centered in the Grand Prairie area was reported at 11:25 p.m. Thursday. A slightly stronger 3.0-magnitude quake centered in the Irving area occurred 36 minutes later.
Law enforcement agencies across northern Texas said they received some 911 calls from concerned residents but no reports of damage.
Irving police spokesman David Tull said his agency received about 25 calls around midnight from people inquiring about the vibrations, which set off car and building alarms.
Grand Prairie and Fort Worth officials also reported no damage. "We just learned about it on the news this morning,” said Dawn Atkins, a Grand Prairie emergency dispatcher.
USGS geophysicist Randy Baldwin said the quakes, which lasted only a few seconds, most likely felt "like a lightly loaded truck passing by, kind of a sharp jerk and then a rapid vibration."
Irving resident Christine Laughland said she was sleeping when the earthquake woke her up. She's from California and wasn't too shocked by the vibrations. But she couldn't say the same thing for her dogs.
“They were barking hysterically because it was their first one,” she said.
Randy Owens, a Starbucks employee in Grand Prairie, said he didn't feel it but that it was the buzz among his customers this morning. "Many were saying they were surprised they didn't feel anything," he said.
Reports of the quake also came from Dallas, Euless and Hurst and Fort Worth, Mr. Baldwin said. Aftershocks could last several days. There is also a possibility of more smaller quakes in the coming days that no one would likely feel.
By ARLINDA ARRIAGA / The Dallas Morning News
Friday, October 31, 2008
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment