Residents in the areas of Reno, Azle and Springtown, took a trip to Austin on Tuesday to address the Texas Railroad Commission wanting answers about earthquakes in those areas.
More than 50 residents from the Azle area boarded a bus to Austin Tuesday morning for the Texas Railroad Commission meeting.
The group addressed commission members about how earthquakes have wreaked havoc on their homes.
“The quakes started recently. I didn't really think that much about it until I was asleep at midnight. It woke me up. I thought a 747 landed on my roof. It was that bad,” said Azle-area resident Phil Dawes.
The group asked for the Texas Railroad Commission to shut down injection wells they think cause the earthquakes. There have been 24 quakes near Azle since November, many of them powerful enough to rattle houses and move furniture.(Click here to see a Google map pinpointing all Northern Texas earthquakes recorded by the USGS since Nov., 2013.)
Commission Chairman Barry Smitherman said they are in the process of hiring a seismologist and will continue to study the area.
“We are going to continue to investigate these reports we heard today. Everybody who came and reported, we are going to have somebody assigned to them to follow up on their reports to see if we can gather enough information to try and conclude if there is a nexus,” said Smitherman.
Some members of the group that traveled to Austin said Smitherman's explanation was not enough and that they were leaving Austin angrier than when they arrived.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
An organizer said they will go back and regroup and decide how to proceed.
