Oklahoma was hit by its second-strongest earthquake ever

Oklahoma was hit by its second-strongest earthquake ever


Fiona Ortiz and Letitia Stein, Reuters11h8,0674
Business Insider | 2016-02-13


(Reuters) - Oklahoma was struck by a magnitude 5.1 earthquake on 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. local time (1707 GMT) 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 (153 km) northwest of Oklahoma City, the USGS said.
The epicenter of the earthquakes is near the East Campbell Gas Field and about 75 miles (121 km) 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.
Read the original article on Reuters. Copyright 2016.