Texas Earthquakes?

Question

I just got off the phone with someone residing in Austin.
She seemed like she was pretty much oblivious to the fact that Texas does indeed have earthquakes. Apparently she and her other coworkers think Texas is somehow immune to earthquakes and they just happen elsewhere.

I seen some show on TV relating to weather patterns by state.
Texas has the most prolific weather patterns, just because it is a BIG state. Earthquakes, Floods, Fires, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, etc. The most extreme weather than any other state.

Anybody who still does not believe Earthquakes happen in Texas can read the following.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/states/texas/history.php

I just hope others that live in Austin are not as oblivious to that fact.

The question about what the ideal place to live was asked. There really is none. You take the good with the bad.
Even though you may never experience a devastating weather pattern in your area, doesn't mean you are immune to them.

It is a gamble. Who really knows when where or if something will actaully happen?
There are certain risks that can be avoided, but other risks get magnified.

(You don't live next to the ocean. Therefor, the odds are you won't experience a hurricane. But the odds of something else happening i.e. tornadoe increases.)

You just have to take your chances and hope for the best.
That's really all you can do.

You could live next to a volcano for a few hundered years. It might not blow, but all that matters is when it actually does go off.

Yeah, so people never actually feel it. That doesn't mean it will never happen. It has in the past and is fact.

Just because it doesn't happen often enough to cause massive damage, doesn't mean it is not true.

I know there are other things more important to worry about than earthquakes in Texas.

I am just stating that they do happen.

People who say it is not possible fall into
a category called complacency.

Nowhere is perfect.

How can people say it is all a matter of perspective?

Is the USGS some sort of elaborate hoax and that they really don't know what they are talking about?

Texas is just some sort of stable state that never has earthquakes and is immune to earthquakes? It only feels the effect of some other state and is quickly dissipated?

I know you are giving your input, but dang, just say yes. They do have earthquakes.
The recorded history is not enough to make headline news. Yet.

Answer 1

I've heard it too. There's a major fault line that runs through central Texas. They're not common, though.

Answer 2

It's all a matter of perspective:

I lived in Texas until I was 22, and the only thing I ever felt was an aftershock. So obviously, earthquakes can happen in Texas, but they are few and far between, and typically fairly mild. We don't, however, have earthquake drills. We do have tornado drills, because tornadoes are more likely to happen in our area. Austin isn't really a mecca for earthquakes or tornadoes...but either could happen given the right circumstances.

Although the information is a little dated, it's based on historical records of earthquakes in Texas: http://www.ig.utexas.edu/research/projects/eq/compendium/earthquakes.htm

Keep in mind that Texas is much larger than most states (well, all, except Alaska), and like you said it does have a wide array of weather patterns, but if you put that many square miles (268,581) together in one place any where in the world, chances are that you will get a large differential in weather patterns.

"As the crow flies," the distance is actually 801 miles N-S and 773 miles E-W across Texas, but since it's hard to find straight line distances, I've gathered this for you comparison:

Just to give you an idea: From Texline, TX to Brownsville, TX it is 918 miles (driving); from Miami, FL to Nashville, TN it's 911 miles (driving); from New Orleans, LA to Chicago IL it's 925 miles (driving).

Now, is anyone going to argue that the weather in New Orleans is anything similar to the weather in Chicago?

Lastly, in the 20th century there were "over 100" recorded earthquakes strong enough to be felt. So, to be fair, let's say there were 200 earthquakes over the course of the century.

(200/268,581sq miles in TX) x 4,224 sq miles in Austin = approximately 3.145 earthquakes strong enough to be felt in Austin over the course of the 20th century. Not exactly something that would make World News Tonight, or even the local evening news. It's even less likely that this is common knowledge to everyone who lives in Austin.

Like I said, it's all a matter of perspective.

Answer 3

Yes, there is a major fault line that runs through Texas, but NO, it isn't a problem that we live with, no matter what you say. There is also a major fault line running through NYC, but they only earthquake I ever felt in my 24 years there was barely noticeable. Just because there is potential for a problem doesn't mean that it actually IS a problem. California has a problem with earthquakes. Texas doesn't. Maybe one day, the fault will slip and there'll be a big quake. Oh well, there isn't anything we can to to prevent that. In this reality, tornadoes, massive storms and even hurricanes are much bigger problems than earthquakes in Texas.

Answer 4

Yes, earthquakes are possible in Texas. After all, we have the world famous Balcones fault line. However, Texas does not sit above an active area for earthquakes. The plates that Texas sits on have not shifted in thousands of years and show no signs of shifting for many years to come.

To say that we are immune from earthquakes would be rather stupid, but it's pretty common practice to say that it's pretty safe for the time being, which is true.

Answer 5

I live in Wisconsin and we don't have earthquakes. We are only 1 of 2 states in the US that don't have earthquakes. The other state is Michigan or Minnesota I forget which one. Some states have earthquakes more often and more serve then other states depending on their location to the fault plates but, all 48 out of 50 states have them.

Answer 6

texas earthquakes

Answer 7

Oh please... less than a dozen earthquakes in an area as big as Texas, most under magnitude 4.5... and all over the state (do you know how BIG Texas is?), over the course of a CENTURY.

I'm not worried at all. I've slept through a 4.5 in LA. I've lived in Houston and San Antonio over the past 30 years and never experienced one... ever.

There are no major fault lines that go through Texas.

I'm not going to lose a second's worth of sleep over it.

Answer 8

The size of the earthquakes in Texas are pretty insubstantial. We'll have them and not realize it because we can't feel it. It doesn't mean it doesn't happen, but it does make it pretty unimportant, especially compared to the greater risk of more frequent and damaging natural disasters.