A record-setting 5.0-magnitude earthquake hit near the Permian Basin town of Orla, Texas, on Thursday morning.
U.S. Geological Survey officials say the quake occurred at 10:16 a.m. about 16 miles southwest of Orla in a rural area off FM 652. There have been 61 earthquakes in West Texas this year but this was the strongest recorded in the region’s history, USGS data shows.
There were no immediate reports of damage but Reeves County Sheriff Arturo Granado said his office received numerous calls from people who felt it.
“People called from El Paso saying they felt it,” Granado said. “That’s more than 200 miles away.” (full story)