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As Azle Residents Sound Off About Earthquakes Tonight, More Tremors Reported

Doualy Xaykaothao
/
KERA News
Critics of gas drilling will hold a public meeting in Azle Monday night.

Critics of gas drilling will hold a public meeting in Azle Monday night.

The meeting comes as more earthquakes continue to rock the area northwest of Fort Worth. A 2.2-magnitude quake struck near Azle on Saturday. And yet another earthquake hit near Azle Monday morning, registering 3.1.

No major damage has been reported from about 30 quakes that have struck North Texas since early November.

Darlia Hobbs is among many Azle residents who have pointed to gas drilling wastewater injection wells as the culprit of the quakes. She says homeowners with newly formed cracks in walls and driveways are anxious - and frustrated - with state regulators.

“They should have answers for these people and they don’t because it hasn’t been a big concern for them,” Hobbs told KERA. “It’s not at the top of their agenda. But it needs to be.”

After a town hall meeting in Azle earlier this month, the Texas Railroad Commission said it would hire a seismologist to help determine if there’s a link between drilling activities and the quakes.    

Hobbs hopes Monday night’s meeting leads to a strategy to get answers and action from state officials sooner than later.

Earlier:What’s Causing Texas Earthquakes? SMU Study Explores Injection Wells From Drilling

Doualy Xaykaothao is a newscaster and reporter for NPR, based in Culver City. She returned to NPR for this role in 2018, and is responsible for writing, producing, and delivering national newscasts. She also reports on breaking news stories for NPR.
Former KERA reporter BJ Austin spent more than 25 years in broadcast journalism, anchoring and reporting in Atlanta, New York, New Orleans and Dallas. Along the way, she covered Atlanta City Hall, the Georgia Legislature and the corruption trials of Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards.