Oklahoma rattled by flurry of earthquakes

April 9, 2018

The U.S. Geological Survey says the temblor on Monday measured a 4.3 magnitude and was centered 17 miles southwest of Perry, Oklahoma.

KOTV

An earthquake rattled northwest Oklahoma early Monday morning – at least the fifth quake to hit the region since Saturday. The U.S. Geological Survey says the temblor on Monday measured a 4.3 magnitude and was centered 17 miles southwest of Perry, which is about 80 miles west of Tulsa.

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake shook Oklahoma on Saturday and was also felt in neighboring Kansas and Missouri, according to the USGS.

The quake on Saturday was one of four earthquakes recorded in northwest Oklahoma on Saturday morning. Garfield County Emergency Management Director Mike Honigsberg said there are no immediate reports of injury or serious damage following the quakes.

There have been 4 earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 2.5 to 3.7 today between Perry and Pawnee, Oklahoma. #okquake https://t.co/JwfpIrpFtB pic.twitter.com/P6G2p38qys

— USGS in Oklahoma (@USGS_Oklahoma) April 6, 2018

The largest temblor was at 7:16 a.m. a few miles outside Covington, a town of about 500 people. Reports on the USGS website show it was felt as far away as Kansas City, Missouri, some 300 miles (480 kilometers) northeast of Covington. People in Joplin, Missouri, and Wichita, Kansas, also reported feeling it.

Saturday’s quakes were in the same area where four others struck Friday, including one of magnitude 3.7.

The threshold for damage usually starts at 4.0. The strongest earthquake on record in Oklahoma was a magnitude 5.8 recorded near Pawnee on September 3, 2016, CBS affiliate KOTV reports.

Many of the thousands of earthquakes in Oklahoma in recent years have been linked to the underground injection of wastewater from oil and natural gas production. State regulators have directed several producers to close or reduce volumes in some wells.