5.4 earthquake midland texas december 2022
The earthquake was recorded about 5:35 p.m., December 16, 2022 with an origin about 12 miles east of Midland and about 3 miles below ground, according to the USGS.
The U.S. Geological Survey recorded a magnitude 5.4 earthquake early Friday evening in the Permian Basin between Midland and Big Spring, with residents reporting feeling it as far away as Lubbock, Abilene San Angelo and beyond.

The earthquake was recorded about 5:35 p.m., with an origin about 12 miles east of Midland and about 3 miles below ground, according to the USGS.

There were no immediate reports of damage, but Lubbock residents have reported feeling the earthquake, including A-J reporter Mateo Rosiles. There were also reports of the earthquake being felt by residents in Abilene and San Angelo, according to residents who reached out to the Avalanche-Journal.

One Abilene resident - this editor's mother near Abilene Christian University - reported being startled by the shaking and calling non-emergency police and fire department numbers out of precaution, with officials saying they were getting numerous reports of the earthquake being felt in the community.

In San Angelo, residents reported to current A-J and former San Angelo Standard-Times reporter Alana Edgin that they felt their homes and businesses shake about 5:38 p.m. Moments later, reports of an earthquake poured in on social media and were confirmed by the National Weather Service in San Angelo.

Kee Edgin, a resident and Angelo State University student, told his sister: "I was just sitting in my chair and the house started to shake. My brother came in and asked 'did you feel that, too?'"

In Plainview, about 40 miles north of Lubbock, numerous residents also reported feeling rumbling at the time of the quake, A-J reporter Alex Driggars reported from that Hale County community.

In Midland, the Midland Reporter-Telegram did not immediately report any known damage, but cited https://earthquaketrack.com/r/western-texas/recent in calling Friday's earthquake the fourth largest earthquake in Texas history.

West Texas earthquakes

This is at least the second earthquake of a 5.0 magnitude or larger in West Texas in the last month, with the USGS confirming a 5.3 magnitude earthquake Nov. 16 northwest of Pecos.

According to Michigan Tech University, earthquakes in the range of 2.5 to 5.4 magnitude are often felt, but only cause minor damage. About 500,000 earthquakes in that range are reported annually around the globe.

The Nov. 16 earthquake was also felt in various parts of Texas and New Mexico including El Paso, Midland and Lubbock.
Adam J. Young has worked at the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal since 2009, after graduating from Texas Tech. He covers crime, breaking news, local government and a little bit of everything else.