State Watch

West Texas rattled by 5.0 magnitude earthquake

A 5.0 magnitude earthquake rattled West Texas on Thursday morning.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake occurred between El Paso and Odessa, 26 miles west of the rural town of Mentone, according to a CNN report.

Shaking in El Paso and Odessa was light, with reports of stronger tremors occurring closer to the epicenter.

The epicenter was located on the line between Mountain and Central time zones, hitting El Paso at 9:16 a.m. and Odessa at 10:16 a.m.

A call center in El Paso for the state’s 24-hour social service hotline temporarily evacuated its employees during the tremors.

Officials at the local fire department confirmed that the service is back online via a Twitter update.