5.3-magnitude earthquake hits west Texas, felt in El Paso

A 5.3-magnitude earthquake hit a remote area of west Texas on Saturday, causing strong shaking in El Paso, Ciudad Juárez and other communities across the region, seismologists and residents say.

The earthquake, which struck at 7:47 p.m. MT on Saturday, was centered in Culberson County, about 125 miles (200 km) east of El Paso, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The USGS said the earthquake had a magnitude of 5.3 and struck at a depth of just 3.9 miles (6.3 kilometers). Mexico’s seismological agency put the magnitude higher, at 5.8.

Shaking from Saturday’s earthquake was felt in parts of Texas, New Mexico and northern Mexico but there were no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries.

“The house was shaking and chairs were moving, along with swaying light fixtures,” Phyllis Favila from El Paso told BNO News. Sandy Hernandez, also from El Paso, said it was the “longest one I have ever felt here.”

Another reader from El Paso reported minor damage at their home: “There is now a crack in the cement foundation at the corner of my brick face house.”

Brian Antonio, from Santa Teresa, New Mexico, described feeling 5 or 6 “good lateral jolts” which lasted a few seconds. In Roswell, a reader described the earthquake as “pretty mild but noticeable.”