Magnitude 3.3 earthquake strikes South Texas

aley@express-news.net
Published 09:59 a.m., Saturday, November 12, 2011

A magnitude 3.3 earthquake shook a rural area south of San Antonio early Saturday morning.

The quake, whose epicenter was about 44 miles southeast of the city, struck at about 4:35 a.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. No damage was reported.

A 4.8 magnitude quake struck the area last month, the largest ever recorded since USGS began keeping track.

Experts say smaller earthquakes are not uncommon for the area. Alan Dutton, who chairs the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Texas at San Antonio, has told the Express-News that the region generally gets a tremor every two to four years, more or less.

The largest quake recorded in Texas history happened Aug. 16, 1931. It had a 5.8 magnitude and its epicenter was near Valentine, in Jeff Davis County in far West Texas.

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