USGS: Oklahoma Hit By Second-Strongest Quake Ever

[DhhD]

Source: Times Record | Online Edition

Reuters
Oklahoma was struck by a magnitude 5.1 earthquake Saturday morning, the second-strongest quake ever recorded in the state, which has experienced a surge in seismic activity in recent years, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The first quake at 11:07 a.m. was followed shortly afterward by a second earthquake, with a magnitude of 3.9, the USGS said. The larger quake was felt through much of the northern part of the state, but no damages or injuries were immediately reported.

Oil fields have boomed in Oklahoma over the past decade thanks to advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, and seismologists have said the state’s frequent earthquakes may be linked to oil production activities.

Earthquakes in Oklahoma in January led to calls for the governor to make changes to oil and gas drilling regulations.

Both of Saturday’s quakes were centered about 95 miles northwest of Oklahoma City, the USGS said.

The epicenter of the earthquakes is near the East Campbell Gas Field and about 75 miles west of Cushing, Oklahoma, which is one of the largest oil storage hubs in the world and is known as the Pipeline Crossroads of the World.

The larger earthquake was “probably the second-largest in Oklahoma and the largest in this general area,” said John Bellini, a geophysicist at the USGS National Earthquake Information Center.

Bellini said Oklahoma’s previous largest was a 5.6 earthquake in 2011. It was not known if Saturday’s quake was related to oil and gas production activities, he said.

The first quake was felt across central and northern Oklahoma, Tulsa’s News On 6 television reported. The TV station said no injuries or damages had been reported.

The state has been recording about two-and-a-half earthquakes a day of a magnitude 3 or greater, a rate 600 times greater than observed before 2008, the Oklahoma Geological Survey said in a report last year.

- See more at: http://swtimes.com/news/state-news/usgs-oklahoma-hit-second-strongest-quake-ever#sthash.Jug1UFqp.dpuf

Read more: http://swtimes.com/news/state-news/usgs-oklahoma-hit-second-strongest-quake-ever

---

There is more seismic activity in Oklahoma since 2011, than at the New Madrid Seismic Zone.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/topics/topics.php?topicID=71

[valerief]

1. It's okay. Rich people are getting richer. Relax.

[Lodestar]

2. Yikes! Earthquakes EVERY DAY??? Oklahomans aren't up in arms??

The state has been recording about two-and-a-half earthquakes a day of a magnitude 3 or greater, a rate 600 times greater than observed before 2008, the Oklahoma Geological Survey said in a report last year.

[jtuck004]

5. They are sick of it. Respectfully, however, what do you do? Move everyone? The state is

now on a foundation of drilling mud.

The time to fix this is long gone. Many, maybe most will never get back what has been lost, even if there is a "fix" in the future. And some very few will profit.

All those buildings, and nice highways, and schools, and service jobs as well as our food which now requires petroleum fertilizer to grow in sufficient quantity, courtesy of cheaply produced oil and gas...

This is the rest of the bill for that.

[Fearless]

3. Gee I wonder what could possibly be the cause11!!!11!

[cstanleytech]

4. Probably the varies fault lines most likely, now if your wondering what could have caused them

to become active again???? Probably the stupidity of humans doing things like drilling and injecting stuff at high pressure that they really shouldnt have been doing though I admit it could also just be natural as well like how the new madrid fault did when it kicked off back around 1811.

[swilton]

6. Grew up in OK

worried for friends and family...

Cushing is the location for the southern leg of the trans X-L pipeline...The southern leg is already being built.....CRAZY

[broadcaster75201]

7. Don't care. Red States elect these people. Their problem, not mine. nt

nt

[rhett o rick]

8. Clinton sides with Chevron and Sanders sides with the People that want to save their environment.

Fracking and other oil extraction related techniques that have been proven to cause environmental damage are a serious issue that Clinton and her supporters refuse to discuss.

[rladdi]

9. But is is caused by FRACKING and the Republicans just won't recognize it. They prefer

making a few guys millionaire.

[DhhD]

10. The North American Craton is being cracked west of its natural pressure release,

the Madrid Seismic Zone. Is something cracking the craton in Oklahoma? The North American Craton is central to the North American Plate.

Dutch Sinse you tube can give one explanation of the Feb. 13th 2016 Oklahoma earthquake.
Please use a search engine to locate the page.

[mpcamb]

11. Any way you crack it- (pun intended) you're gonna bugger up the Aquifer.

The already depleting Ogallala is a 7 state 'water tank' that'll get poisoned by fracking.