JohnsonCountyEvents.com » earthquake

Casual Observer 6/10

Editor — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 03:01:17 +0000

Casual Observer

The Casual Observer

So, five earth quakes (tremors) in the Cleburne area. We equate the team “earth quakes” with mass destruction and often deaths in far off places, certainly not in Cleburne, Texas.

I wonder if our government, in their environment impact studies, ever considered what the end results might be from all the drilling being done in the county. Now our city leaders will spend some of the money gained from this drilling on a study to determine “what’s happening.”

I have my own theories about the cause of these earth moving experiences.

First, there is too large a concentration of large trucks with heavy loads in the area and they are moving loads of earth material to different places. This is causing the earth to shift to compensate.

Second, there is a lot more road work being done to repair the damage these trucks do to our roads resulting in layer upon layer of road material. This is causing a heavier load in a concentrated area and causing the earth to shift to compensate.

Of course, you might hear the theory that this is God’s way of punishing us because of the recent vote to bring liquor into our markets.

Whatever the reason for these earth moving experiences, life goes on and there is nothing that you and I can do about it.

Life is still good in Johnson County.

Johnson County Tremor Number 5

Editor — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:57:04 +0000

Cleburne hit by fifth quake, two in one day;
City approves spending to find expert to determine why quakes are happening.

City will be available to provide fresh sound for radio and TV wanting additional AMD coverage

CLEBURNE, Tx., – The City of Cleburne was hit with two small earthquakes on Tuesday night. The first was at 5:10 p.m.

Magnitude2.4
Date-Time

Tuesday, June 09, 2009 at 22:10:18 UTC

Tuesday, June 09, 2009 at 05:10:18 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location32.350°N, 97.400°W
Depth5 km (3.1 miles) set by location program
RegionNORTHERN TEXAS
Distances

1 km (0 miles) WSW (257°) from Cleburne, TX

8 km (5 miles) SW (235°) from Keene, TX

12 km (7 miles) S (183°) from Joshua, TX

44 km (27 miles) S (188°) from Fort Worth, TX

76 km (47 miles) SW (229°) from Dallas, TX

Location UncertaintyError estimate not available
ParametersNST= 4, Nph= 4, Dmin=294.6 km, Rmss=0 sec, Gp=252°,
M-type=”Nuttli” surface wave magnitude (mbLg), Version=6
Source

Macroseismic location

Event IDus2009hrcc

The second was just one hour and 19 minutes later at 6:19.

Magnitude2.1
Date-Time

Tuesday, June 09, 2009 at 23:19:55 UTC

Tuesday, June 09, 2009 at 06:19:55 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location32.350°N, 97.400°W
Depth5 km (3.1 miles) set by location program
RegionNORTHERN TEXAS
Distances

1 km (0 miles) WSW (257°) from Cleburne, TX

8 km (5 miles) SW (235°) from Keene, TX

12 km (7 miles) S (183°) from Joshua, TX

44 km (27 miles) S (188°) from Fort Worth, TX

76 km (47 miles) SW (229°) from Dallas, TX

Location UncertaintyError estimate not available
ParametersNST= 2, Nph= 2, Dmin=294.3 km, Rmss=0 sec, Gp=252°,
M-type=”Nuttli” surface wave magnitude (mbLg), Version=6
Source

Macroseismic location

Event IDus2009hrch

At 8 p.m. last night, the Cleburne City Council met in an emergency meeting to approve the hiring of a geological professional to examine the quakes that have hit Cleburne and Johnson County. The goal is to, if possible, determine a cause for the quakes. Mayor Ted Reynolds says it is not known if gas drilling in the city is responsible. There has been a debate in the geology community over whether drilling plays a role in quakes. The hope is the expert will be able to find the cause for these Cleburne cases.

The resolution gives City Manager Chester Nolen the authority to interview and hire an expert to study the quakes. This will take place as soon as possible. The city will announce the hire when it happens.

4th Quake in Cleburne

Editor — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:36:03 +0000

Fourth ground rumble hits Johnson County, Cleburne

Council to hold emergency meeting vote tonight to hire a professional to investigate why these quakes are hitting the area.

Calls started coming in at 5:05 p.m.

CLEBURNE, Tx. – 9-1-1 operators for the City of Cleburne and the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department got complaints of another possible earthquake at 5:05 tonight.

The Cleburne City Council took a break from its workshop meeting this evening after emergency officials were told of the calls coming in. Police and fire officials are making the rounds to make sure there is no damange. So far, there are no reports of damage or injuries from this incident.

The USGS has not posted anything as of yet on a possible magnitude reading on this event.

The City of Cleburne is urging media to monitor the USGS website, earthquake.usgs.gov to keep up with a magnitude reading.

The Cleburne City Council, which is already meeting tonight, will break from its regular meeting to hold an emergency session at 8 p.m. to discuss the earthquakes hitting the area. Mayor Ted Reynolds says the council will vote on a request to hire geological professional to investigate the earthquakes on the city’s behalf.

The only comments coming from the city tonight will be through this emergency issue coming before the council.

The meeting will be held at 10. N. Robinson St. in Cleburne.

NOTE: The Cleburne City Council was meeting in a workshop when word on this event becomae known. The coucnil’s regular meeting starts at 7. A notice for an emergency meeting, which requires a two hour posting notice, will be out at 6 p.m.

The emergency portion will begin at 8 p.m.

Another Quake Near Cleburne

Editor — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 00:35:59 +0000

The quake happened at 5:56, 18 miles south southeast of Cleburne near the town of Covington

Second event to hit Cleburne area in five days

CLEBURNE, Tx – For the second time in five days, an earthquake has hit near the City of Cleburne. The United States Geological Survey says the quake hit 18 miles from the city near the Johnson County town of Covington. It is also near the town of Rio Vista.

The USGS says this is a 2.4 magnitude quake, less than the 2.8 quake that it inside the city limits on Tuesday, June 2 at 3:07 p.m.

Officials from the City of Cleburne, including City Manager Chester Nolen and Fire Chief Clint Ishmael felt the quake at their homes.

Nolen and Ishmael say there is no damage inside the city limits, and the city has not been asked to assist Johnson County officials handle any damage that may have occurred from the quake.

“My son told me this didn’t shake as much as the quake from Tuesday,” Nolen said. “In fact, there was just a small shake inside my house.”

While the location is now set near Covington, USGS officials are telling the City of Cleburne that the exact location of the quake may change as they review the data over the next few hours. For example, the Tuesday quake was originally located by the agency to be a mile west of Cleburne. But further review found the quake was actually inside the city at a specific intersection.

“It sounded like a clap of thunder and then a short vibration. It lasted less than two seconds so it wasn’t long at all,” Ishmael said.

Any Johnson County resident who felt the quake are encouraged to log on to the USGS website at Earthquake.usgs.gov and click on the “Did You Feel It” icon and let the geologists know what you experienced.

THE LATEST USGS DATA:
Magnitude2.4
Date-Time

Sunday, June 07, 2009 at 22:56:23 UTC

Sunday, June 07, 2009 at 05:56:23 PM at epicenter

Location32.210°N, 97.297°W
Depth5 km (3.1 miles) set by location program
RegionNORTHERN TEXAS
Distances

5 km (3 miles) NW (314°) from Covington, TX

8 km (5 miles) ESE (112°) from Rio Vista, TX

12 km (7 miles) NE (51°) from Blum, TX

18 km (11 miles) SSE (150°) from Cleburne, TX

57 km (36 miles) SSW (197°) from Arlington, TX

81 km (50 miles) SW (216°) from Dallas, TX

Location Uncertaintyhorizontal +/- 18.4 km (11.4 miles); depth fixed by location program
ParametersNST= 5, Nph= 5, Dmin=105.7 km, Rmss=0.4 sec, Gp=173°,
M-type=”Nuttli” surface wave magnitude (mbLg), Version=6
Source

U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center:
World Data Center for Seismology, Denver

Source: Hodges PR Services and Consulting