A magnitude-5.6 earthquake Saturday morning that at least tied a state record shook Oklahoma and several neighboring states.
The U.S. Geological Service reported the quake at 7:02 a.m. was centered about 10 miles northwest of Pawnee, Oklahoma, about 50 miles west-northwest of Tulsa and the Route 66 corridor.
The earthquake would at least tie the state record of the 5.6-magnitude jolt felt near Prague, Oklahoma, on Nov. 5, 2011. That quake destroyed about a dozen homes and caused two injuries.
The Enid News talked to a USGS official who said the quake Saturday was stronger than the Prague tremblor:
Dan McNamara, a research geophysicist with the USGS, said they are working to determine more details about the earthquake.
“We just determined it’s the largest earthquake, larger than Prague,” he said, adding data shows it is just a fraction larger even though it is not enough to change the magnitude.
Although the Prague and Pawnee quakes had the same magnitude — 5.6 — McNamara said the Pawnee quake had a slightly larger energy release.
USGS data also report a series of aftershocks in the same region with magnitudes of 3.1, 3.4, 2.7, 2.9. 3.6 and 3.2 that morning.
The Tulsa World recorded some damage reports in the Pawnee region:
The Pawnee County Sheriff’s office received reports of exterior damage to a few office buildings in the city’s downtown area Saturday morning.
In an interview with Fox 23 news, Pawnee mayor Brad Sewell said there was damage to a historic sandstone building in the town square, where stones could be seen lying on a sidewalk. The mayor also said a grocery store was in the process of cleaning up. Merchandise that had fallen from shelves was strewn in the floor of aisles.
Route 66 and its landmarks and businesses probably are far enough away from the epicenter to not sustain any significant damage, although the World said the governor would order the highway department to inspect bridges in the region for damage.
Oklahoma has experienced a huge upsurge in earthquakes in recent years. Scientists strongly believe injection wells to dispose of fracking wastewater — not the fracking itself — are the cause. A Tulsa World analysis in January found fracking wastewater disposal volumes rose 81 percent in six years — coinciding with the rise in frequency of earthquakes.
There are 20 or so fracking wells withing 3 miles of the epicenter. All of them built within the last few years. My source? Google Earth and my own eyes. I counted them.