How did recent South Texas earthquakes occur? [Video]

A series of recent earthquakes near the South Texas town of Falls City can likely be attributed to the region’s petroleum production and wastewater disposal well injections, according to professors in Texas A&M’s Department of Geology and Geophysics.

“Industry activities can sometimes cause earthquakes and this is definitely related to the local geology information and also related to the stress caused by the industrial activity,” said Xiaowei Chen, an A&M professor who studies earthquakes.

Since Feb. 8, 12 earthquakes with a magnitude of 3.0 or higher have occurred within a 10-mile area near Falls City, according to Justin Rubinstein, a research geophysicist for the U.S. Geological Survey. This sequence of seismic activity was highlighted by a magnitude 4.7 earthquake on Feb. 16. A magnitude 4.4 earthquake occurred near the 4.7 quake just 12 minutes prior. Rubinstein did say it’s too early to know the exact cause of these earthquakes, but …