Another Earthquake Hits The Amarillo Area
Ok ok, so you may not have actually FELT it, but a 3.2 magnitude earthquake "shook" the Channing area this morning. The tremor happened around 6:45am just north of the Canadian River.
Now while I realize these are so small that most people didn't even recognize the disturbance, it is still significant. This is the 2nd tremor we've felt in the area in the last 30 days. Remember, there was one in Pampa that registered a 4.3 on the Richter. We've also had 4 total in the last 365 calendar days, but for these to hit so close together makes you pause a bit.
Clearly there is some seismic movement going on in the region and the fault lines are clearly active. With all that kind of activity, we run the risk of seeing something bigger. It's been nearly 100 years since the largest earthquake to hit Amarillo happened. Back in 1925, a 5.4 magnitude quake rocked the Panhandle. Now THAT is high enough to where you would've felt it. However, it seems these big events seem to cycle every 100 years. I mean, the flu epidemic happened in 1918, and COVID-19 hit us in 2020.
I'm a baseball guy, so I'm pretty superstitious about things. Natural phenomenon though can be pretty unpredictable, even with the tools available to us. Either way, it's always interesting to see if anyone felt a little tremor or not. Some say they did and really didn't even know an earthquake happened. I know I didn't feel this one, but I also wasn't anywhere close to the area it happened. Personally, I'm hoping I never have to feel one.