WEST TEXAS – Scurry County Judge Dan Hicks officially declared a disaster and urgently requested assistance from the state Friday after the 61st earthquake in the past seven days struck his county.
In his request for assistance, Hicks said damages have been found in businesses and residences throughout Scurry County.
The latest earthquake rattled West Texas Friday morning, sending aftershocks to the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The 5.0-magnitude earthquake happened at around 9:30 a.m. in Scurry County, about 200 miles west of Fort Worth. It was the 5th-strongest quake in Texas history. It was a few miles away from the 4.9-magnitude earthquake that also rattled West Texas on Monday.
CBS News Texas
According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake was felt as far as Durant, Oklahoma and even down in Georgetown.
Scurry County has a population of about 16,686.
Not the first earthquake this week
The 4.9-magnitude earthquake that rocked West Texas Monday night sent aftershocks as far north as Amarillo and as far south as Austin.
It happened around 10:30 p.m. about 200 miles west of Fort Worth in Fisher County. The epicenter of the earthquake was eight miles northeast of Hermleigh, west of Abilene.
CBS News Texas
Although the epicenter was hundreds of miles from North Texas, some aftershocks could still be felt.
The aftershocks were about 3.1 magnitude, CBS News Texas Chief Meteorologist Scott Padgett said. They were felt as far north as Amarillo and as far south as Austin, according to the United States Geological Survey.
In addition to this earthquake, there were two others next to it, one was 3.1-magnitude and the other was 4.4-magnitude.
Fisher County has a population of about 3,622. No damages or injuries have been reported.
Are earthquakes common in Texas?
The last time an earthquake was felt in North Texas was in May when two earthquakes hit Johnson County near Mansfield. Preliminary reports rated the quakes as 3.0 and 3.2-magnitude.
According to the TexNet Earthquake Catalog, this year, most earthquakes in Texas took place in the west, near Odessa, and in the south, outside San Antonio.
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