West Texas earthquake: Woman describes what she felt in North Austin

TEXAS – One of the largest earthquakes on record in the state of Texas rocked parts of West Texas on Monday night.

The powerful 5.1 magnitude quake was even felt here in Central Texas.

“I was looking at everything saying ‘this is real, this is not like a hallucination, this is actually happening,’” says Resa Schier, who felt the impact of the earthquake.

On Monday, Sept. 16, around 7:49 p.m., a ground shaking 5.1 magnitude earthquake happened in Ackerly near Midland, according to the U.S. Geological survey. The effects could be felt by residents living as far as North Austin.

“I was just sitting on the bed watching TV. I was sitting upright and that is when I started noticing something was happening. I started hearing something. I live in an apartment. I am on the third floor, so I have upstairs and downstairs neighbors and I started hearing kind of like a knocking. I was like OK, that is one of the neighbors,” says Schier.

West Texas earthquake: Some report feeling it in Austin

The confirmed earthquake categorized as moderate is ranked among the top five largest earthquakes in the history of Texas.

“I realized my bed was rocking kind of, back and forth, I heard the knocking. I feel that, and I am like, hello, what is going on,” says Schier.

The USGS says they received more than 1,400 reports from Texans saying they felt the impact and shaking.

Many people took to social media to express their concerns and to see if others were affected.

“I know that this is not super common here, so it obviously caused a stir online,” says Schier.

Earthquakes considered as moderate are known to occur nearly 1,500 times a year, and can cause property damage, according to the FOX 7 Austin weather team.

“This was my first and yeah, so it was only probably 10 or 15 seconds, but it was definitely enough to feel something,” says Schier.

The depth of the earthquake was 7.9 kilometers. There were no damage or injuries reported.