Two earthquakes took place on Thursday in Texas and California, according to US Geological Survey.
The first one was a 4.8 magnitude earthquake which took place in Texas, having the epicenter near rural Karnes County, 47 miles southwest of San Antonio. The quake struck at 7:24 a.m. local time and was eye-opening because it was a record breaker.
It was the largest earthquake on record for the area, surpassing a magnitude of 4.3 shock recorded in 1993, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Don Blakeman, USGS geophysicist, said that southern Texas has been experiencing small earthquakes since the 1970s, and that 14 quakes between 2.6 and 3.4 magnitudes have been recorded since 1982.
However, the Thursday morning quake was significantly larger.
Don Blakeman also said it is impossible to predict if there will be any aftershocks. The Texas quake was both big enough to produce some small aftershocks and small enough that they wouldn’t necessarily be expected.
The second earthquake took place in California and had a 3.9 magnitude. The quake had the epicenter two miles southeast of Berkeley near San Francisco. It caused a sharp jolt but no immediate signs of damages or injuries.
The earthquake in California struck at 2:31 p.m. local time and was at a depth of about 6.1 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Yesterday, the earthquake in California was felt as a sharp jolt in the East Bay area, and across the bay in San Francisco. The quake came almost 22 years to the day after the Loma Prieta earthquake struck the Bay Area during the 1989 World Series.
It also came on the same day Californians took part in an annual earthquake preparedness drill at 10:20 a.m. Thursday. More than 8.5 million people signed up to participate in the 2011 Great California ShakeOut.
