5.2 Earthquake, USGS: Moderate Shock Shakes Arizona and New Mexico
A moderate earthquake hit the Arizona-New Mexico border Saturday night. No injuries or damages have been reported yet.
The U.S. Geological Society said the 5.2-magnitude earthquake hit at 9:59 p.m. PDT Saturday. The temblor was centered in southeastern Arizona, about 35 miles east of Safford.
USGS geophysicist Jana Pursley said aftershocks were reported. One had a 3.5 magnitude.
Pursley said callers as far as 150 miles from the earthquake said they felt it.
People in Phoenix and El Paso, Texas, also reported being able to feel the quake. Both cities are about 175 miles from the epicenter of the earthquake.
Police officials with Graham County, near the New Mexico border, reported receiving hundreds of calls about the quake -- but no damage or injuries were reported.
Graham County Sheriff's Office dispatcher Jennifer Taylor said callers reported that their natural gas meters were malfunctioning.
A Safford, Arizona, man told FOX 10 News in Phoenix that the quake cracked his home's foundation. "I felt a rumble, and I thought it was helicopters. All of a sudden the whole house started creaking and shaking."
Monica McDaniel, a Hampton Inn hotel clerk in Lordsburg, New Mexico, told NBC News she'd never been in an earthquake. "It just felt like all the walls were shaking and trembling," she said. "I didn't get scared. I just waited for it to stop. I didn't know what it was." The hotel was not damaged.
USGS historical data show this earthquake was one of the strongest in Arizona history.
Those who felt the earthquake are encouraged to report it to the USGS website so that data can be added to the intensity map.
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