Residents Pack Irving City Hall For Earthquake Meeting
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IRVING (CBSDFW.COM) - You might say the recent North Texas earthquakes have shaken officials into action. The four earthquakes that rumbled under the city of Irving Tuesday sent an overflow crowd in search of answers.
Irving City Hall was so packed with people, dozens had to wait outside.
The city was handing out earthquake preparedness plan pamphlets at the meeting.
Dupree Theater was at maximum capacity. The auditorium only fits 250 people, so remaining attendees were sent to an overflow in the hallway.
When the mayor asked the crowd, "Who decided to come to this town hall after the four quakes?" the majority of hands in the room went up.
No new information was released by the City of Irving, but the mayor did tell the crowd that Southern Methodist University seismologists need more data and might not even accurately know the epicenter of the quakes.
Residents who spoke with CBS 11 News said that while it's frustrating that know one knows why the quakes are happening, they were relieved to hear and see how serious the city is taking the matter.
Irving resident Martin Salazar said, "Yeah, of course it's going to bother me. That's not something you're going to find our right away, it's going to take awhile."
Looking toward the future Laura Aguilera said, "I want to be prepared just in case we do get a big earthquake. I want to be prepared."
The subject of hydraulic fracturing was also brought up quite a bit by residents, as a concern as to why this quakes might be happening.
City officials responded saying there hasn't been any drilling going on in the last few years, but they stopped short of saying anything about the quakes that have occurred in surrounding areas.
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