On Saturday morning citizens from Pawnee, Oklahoma, woke up to a 5.6 tremor that shook the entire town and was felt in over seven states, according to the United States Geological Survey. No injuries have been reported so far.
Around 7:00 a.m on Saturday, citizens felt the shake in the town of Pawnee and in other states that include Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, Iowa and Nebraska. Initial reports have informed slight damages to buildings including a 100-year old bank building that showed physical damage and broken pieces. The tremor is, so far, the strongest shake felt in the state in the past decade and citizens are blaming Oklahoma’s oil and natural gas industry.
Biggest shake in a decade
Pawnee, a town that holds over 2,200 citizens felt the 5.6 shake on early Saturday morning, lasting up to a minute and several reports from shakes arrived at the U.S Geological Survey from locations involving Kansas and Houston.
The epicenter took place at Pawnee, the U.S Geological Survey informed, and it had a depth of 6.6 km, and it was felt so far away because of the softer soils in the central and eastern U.S regions.
So far, the shake occasionated only cosmetic damage to buildings and structures including cracked bricks at the Oklahoma State University and in a 100-year old bank building, historical to the town.
“It’s an old historical building about 100 years old. It’s still standing, but some of the outer layers of sandstone fell, it could be cosmetic damage, we don’t know yet,” informed the city’s mayor Brad Sewell to CNN News.
@tornadopayne @NEWS9 #okquake damage in Pawnee. pic.twitter.com/IRNSXvcgX1
— J Berry Harrison III (@boberryIII) September 3, 2016
State officials have asked structural engineers to review bridges and buildings for safety measures after the quake happened. Meanwhile, citizens have been asked to report damages and smell of gas on their homes, to prevent further losses.
“Right now the situation is that as long as we get the most information from our wonderful city people, I think we’re going to be just fine,” said Lou Brock, a Pawnee citizen to the Wall Street Journal.
At the beginnings of March, the United States Geological Survey informed the possibilities of an increment in human-induced Earthquakes due to fluid injections or extractions in the soil. The report warned Texas and Oklahoma citizens about those possibilities.
According to the report, Oklahoma residents had a 5 to 12 percent possibility of facing damaged from earthquakes. Recently reports inform that the Oklahoma Corporation Commission is examining disposal wells due to the quake.
This is not the first time Oklahoma has faces a strong quake, back in November 2011, the state also suffered a 5.0 earthquake.
Authorities will continue to inform citizens about the possible damages and outcomes of the incident.
Source: CNN