America's North Shore Journal

The folks in Dallas got an early Halloween treat today when two earthquakes rattled the city.

At 9:25 there was a small quake recorded at 2.5 on the Richter scale, centered near Grand Prairie.

At 10:01 an earthquake measuring 3.0 was recorded just south of Irving, Texas. The Dallas Morning News reports no damage from either quake.

The University of Texas Institute for Geophysics reports in its Texas Earthquake FAQ:

Q: Have earthquakes occurred in Dallas-Fort Worth in historic times?

A: No. The closest earthquakes were both very small; on 18 September 1985 one with magnitude about 3.4 occurred in Valley View, Texas, about 80 km north of Fort Worth; one with magnitude about 3.3 occurred on 20 March 1950 in Chico, Texas, about 70 km northwest of Fort Worth. Recently, an earthquake with magnitude about 3.4 occurred on 31 May 1997 near Commerce, about 100 km northwest of central Dallas. None of these quakes were felt in Dallas or Fort Worth. Of course, Dallas-Fort Worth residents in tall buildings may occasionally feel effects of very distant earthquakes in Mexico or elsewhere.

The FAQ will have to be revised.