On Monday, Texas experienced a series of earthquakes occurring within a three-hour timeframe.

According to the Daily Mail, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported three tremors in the western region of the state, with the largest earthquake measuring 3.6 in magnitude.

This tremor struck approximately 35 miles south of Whites City, New Mexico. In addition to the largest quake, two smaller tremors, registering magnitudes of 2.7 and 2.8, were recorded northeast of it.

This swarm of earthquakes followed a more powerful tremor recorded on Sunday night, which measured 5.4 in magnitude and prompted the USGS to issue a warning about the potential for more seismic activity in the upcoming week.

This suggests that Monday’s seismic events may have been aftershocks related to the significant quake from the previous night.

Texas, known for its extensive fracking operations, engages in this process by injecting large volumes of water, chemicals, and sand into rock formations to release trapped fuels.

While fracking itself is not typically a direct cause of earthquakes, the disposal of wastewater generated from the process has been linked to induced seismicity.

A 2022 study conducted by the University of Texas at Austin found that 68 percent of Texas quakes with a magnitude over 1.5 were “highly associated” with oil and gas production.

Dr. Alexandros Savvaidis from the University of Texas recently highlighted that increased drilling activities could lead to heightened seismic risks.

He noted that deep injection wells, in particular, are correlated with higher-magnitude earthquakes, while shallower injection sites appear to pose less risk for significant seismic events.

The 3.6 magnitude earthquake detected on Monday was located at the same epicenter as the previous night’s powerful 5.4 magnitude tremor.

Residents in El Paso reported feeling the tremors, with some sharing videos illustrating the shaking of streets from the earthquakes, which were felt up to 200 miles away from the epicenter.