Magnitude-5.2 earthquake shakes New Mexico, Arizona

Sun Jun 29, 2014 10:21am EDT

(Reuters) - A 5.2-magnitude earthquake near the border of Arizona and New Mexico rattled a significant swath of the U.S. Southwest late Saturday but caused no major damage or injuries, the United States Geological Survey said.

The earthquake was centered about 31 miles (50 km) northwest of the city of Lordsburg, New Mexico, and could be felt some 150 miles (240 km) west in the city of Tucson, Arizona, and 300 miles east (480 km) in Roswell, New Mexico, the USGS and local media reported.

The quake hit at 9.59 p.m. local time at a depth of about 3 miles (5 km) and was followed by two small aftershocks, the USGS said.

It knocked pictures from walls and caused light fixtures to swing, local media reported. It also prompted scores of people across the region to call 911.

In the southeastern Arizona town of Thatcher, residents saw roads and structures swaying.

"It just kept shaking and shaking, and I grabbed the arm of the girl next to me," Jennifer Taylor, a dispatcher for the Graham County Sheriff's Office, told KPHO-TV. "We went out to the patio and looked up and our radio tower was shaking."

In El Paso, Texas, about 150 miles (240 km) east of the epicenter along Interstate 10, local officials tweeted that staff inside the El Paso International Airport control tower said they felt the quake.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/...0F40KM20140629