5.0 magnitude earthquake rattles Oklahoma.
Cushing, Oklahoma is known as the pipeline crossroads of the world and is one of the largest commercial crude storage centers in North America. It also lies in a part of the state that has a large concentration of wastewater disposal wells, a site that has been the focus of numerous earthquakes.
Sunday evening, at about 7:44PM, the most recent earthquake rattled the state, just 1 mile west of the city. It was a 5.0 magnitude earthquake on the Richter Scale and was the third earthquake of 5.0 or higher just this year. These quakes are becoming a growing concern across the state, after nearly 2200 earthquake have occurred just this year in the state. Data provided by The United States Geological Survey shows that the earthquake was felt as far as St. Louis. In a news conference today, Cushing’s City Manager Steve Spears said that even though the earthquake was only magnitude 5.0, it still caused damage.
“It appears there’s numerous buildings, 40 to 50, that have substantial damage, a lot of buildings have cracks so it’s going to be a process over the next week or so trying to determine exactly the extent of the full damage,” Spears said.
In a report released earlier this year by The United States Geological Survey, Oklahoma now has about the same risk of an earthquake as parts of California. Some studies link the earthquakes to oil and gas operations that pump water into underground wells. But how would that cause an earthquake?
Mark Peterson, an expert with the USGS says that there is more wastewater to dispose of around the country. When the water is pumped into underground wells by companies, the water rises and puts pressures on faults which cause small quakes.
With a large concentration of oil centered on Oklahoma, scientists and officials are worried that a large quake could damage the oil hub and disrupt the energy market. For now, as precaution, The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has shut down operations for companies that run intrastate pipelines until everything has been assessed.
