A 5.4-magnitude earthquake struck an oil-producing region in West Texas on Friday, shaking structures but causing no apparent damage, US officials said.
The US Geological Survey said the quake occurred at 5:35 p.m. local time (2335 GMT) 22 kilometers (12 miles) northwest of Midland.
The USGS said a smaller aftershock of magnitude 3.3 occurred three minutes after the first shock.
“This would be the fourth most powerful earthquake in the history of the state of Texas!” tweeted the Midland office of the National Weather Service.
While moderate, the quake was felt over a large area, from as far north as Lubbock, near the Texas panhandle, to Odessa, 20 miles southwest of Midland, tweeted meteorologist Jacob Riley of television station KLBK in Lubbock. .
Friday’s quake came exactly a month after a slightly less strong earthquake struck the Pecos region of west Texas, just south of the New Mexico border. It didn’t do any harm.