Geophysicist Jana Pursley at the USGS's National Earthquake Information Center in Colorado said that according to early reports received by the agency, the quake was felt by more than 1,500 people over a large distance from Amarillo and Abilene in Texas to as far west as Carlsbad, New Mexico.

"It's a sizable earthquake for that region," Pursley said, adding, "In that region such an event will be felt for a couple of hundred miles."

The quake was followed shortly after by a less-intense aftershock, and Pursley said there could be more going forward with declining magnitude.

"I haven't received any information about damages but it can crack stucco or driveways close to epicenter," she added.

A quake of similar magnitude struck West Texas last month. That Nov. 16 temblor was measured at 5.3 and had an epicenter about 95 miles (153 kilometers) west of Midland.

Pancake ice on the River Exe, Tiverton!

16 December 2022, Tiverton, Devon, UK

Pancake ice is a form of sea ice that consists of round pieces of ice with diameters ranging from 30 centimetres (12 in) to 3 metres (9.8 ft) and thicknesses up to 10 centimetres (3.9 inches), depending on the local conditions. It forms as a result of wave action on slush or ice rind.

At least 120 people have lost their lives after torrential rain caused widespread damages, landslides and flooding in the city of Kinshasa, the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

© Government of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Floods, landslides and sinkholes following heavy rain caused severe damages in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, on 13 December 2022.

Heavy rain fell overnight, from 12 to 13 December 2022, causing floods, landslides and sinkholes. Several municipalities in the city were affected. Dozens of houses and buildings collapsed and vehicles were left stranded. Wide stretches of road were completely destroyed, including in Mitendi, a commune to the southwest of the city, where a sinkhole wiped out the busy N1 highway which connects Kinshasa to Matadi. The road is likely to be closed for 4 to 5 days, the Prime Minister said in a statement.

Local media said never has the rain been so deadly and devastating in the city and reported damage and fatalities in several communes (municipalities) in particular Ngaliema and Mont-Ngafula. The Ministry of Health officials reported a total of more than 140 fatalities, while the Prime Minister in a statement said at least 120 people had died. Search and rescue operations are ongoing and are likely to find more victims.

Prime Minister Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde visited some of the affected areas on 13 December. On the instructions of the President of the Republic, the Government decreed a 3-day period of national mourning.

In a statement of 13 December, the Governor of Kinshasa, Ngobila Mbaka, offered his condolences to the families of the victims and expressed sympathy with the people who have suffered. He also stressed the need to respect planning rules banning illegal construction in drainage areas and river beds and emphasised the need to keep rivers and drainage channels free of trash and debris.

Around 20 people died in floods in the city in late November 2015

At least 37 people died after floods in Kinshasa in January 2018

Flooding struck in the city in October 2019 where 6 people died, and again in November 2019, when around 41 people died.

The death toll in the Democratic Republic of the Congo continues to rise following heavy rain and extreme flooding that have ravaged the country in recent days.

At least 169 people have died as a result of destructive rains in the capital Kinshasa, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and officials said on Friday.

The flooding left another 30 people injured and pulverised an estimated 280 homes across the capital of some 15 million people, in which approximately 38,000 residents have been affected.

The city's Mont-Ngafula and Ngaliema districts were the hardest hit by the downpours, officials said.

A joint team from OCHA and the government's social affairs ministry visited affected areas on Thursday to inspect the damage.

"Today marks the end of three day of national mourning in memory of those deceased," OCHA said in a statement.

"The Government has confirmed that it will organize a dignified and secure burial of those who have lost their lives."

An estimated 8.2 million people in at least 20 different nations in west and central Africa have been affected by heavy rains in recent weeks. On Friday, the UN estimated that 2.9 million people had been displaced and more than half a million homes destroyed.