One of the strongest earthquakes to hit Texas rocked residents early Wednesday, according to multiple reports.
The earthquake reached a magnitude of 5.3 on the Richter scale at a depth of approximately five miles, according to FoxWeather. The earthquake reportedly began at 3:27 a.m. MST and was centered in Mentone, Texas, between Midland and El Paso.
“You probably were just rudely awakened by an earthquake,” The National Weather Service in El Paso said in a social media post. “USGS is reporting a M5.2 south of Carlsbad, NM, which occurred at 3:27am.”
The earthquake could be felt approximately 150 miles North of the center in Roswell, New Mexico, according to local weather camera footage. (RELATED: Earthquake Rumbles Through Major US State)
WATCH: This video shows the moment an earthquake shook our weather camera in Roswell, New Mexico. It was a 5.3 magnitude quake centered in western Texas. STORY: https://t.co/Pjeub3tJOc pic.twitter.com/qQYvs7gvkT
— KFOX14 News (@KFOX14) November 8, 2023
The earthquake marked the fourth-strongest measured in Texas since records began in 1900, according to FoxWeather. The most recent larger earthquake occurred in Coalson Draw, Texas, at a magnitude of 5.4 in 2021. The strongest earthquake to ever be felt in the state was in Valentine, Texas, at a magnitude of 5.8 back in 1931.
Mentone is a sparsely populated town within Loving County, which only has a population of 64 people, according to the United States Census Bureau. The region is known primarily as an epicenter for Texas oil and gas production and was nearby to an earthquake of similar magnitude in 2022, according to NBC Houston.
There were no immediate reports of damages or injuries following the earthquake, according to FoxWeather.