EXTREME WEATHER: "The Mothership" - Massive Supercell Thunderstorm Drops Two Tornadoes On Tulsa, Oklahoma!

A tornadic supercell wreaks havoc on Tulsa, Oklahoma last week.
© Lanny Dean, Extreme Chase Tours

April 9, 2016 - OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES - This, ladies and gentleman, is what we call a "mothership" supercell.

Meteorologists and storm chasers refer to a select few supercell thunderstorms as "motherships" for a simple, very non-meteorological reason: they resemble spaceships. To be considered a mothership supercell, the whole structure of the storm must typically be seen from top to bottom and end to end.

They often have a striated appearance (also known as "frisbee stacks") spiraling up and resembling a barber pole to altitudes higher than where planes fly. These striations are a visible cue the storm has a strongly rotating updraft, the prerequisite needed to be considered a "supercell" thunderstorm. These storms can be striking to those in the path, resembling UFO's over typical thunderstorms. Need more convincing. Check out this photo that was snapped of the same supercell. "Mothership," right?

This storm produced two EF-2 tornadoes confirmed by the Tulsa National Weather Service office. It was a long-lived and discrete supercell that crossed northern parts of the Tulsa metro just before sunset. Storm chaser Lanny Dean of Extreme Chase Tours and photographer of the first picture, chased the mothership supercell that day and collected some unprecedented and potentially revolutionary data on the storm. It's called "infrasonics" which analyzes the acoustic and pressure perturbation properties generated by supercell thunderstorms and tornadoes. In other words, it captures the "sound" frequency (or noise signatures) emitted by thunderstorms and tornadoes between 0.001 and 20 hertz — frequencies that are below the human ability to hear.

Supercell that passed just north of Tulsa this evening… photo by Ashleigh Webb #okwx pic.twitter.com/2kt2cdMelP

— James Spann (@spann) March 31, 2016

Tulsa area tornado earlier looking from Tulsa Airport. Pic from Danny Fritsche. #okwx @NewsOn6 @NewsOn6 pic.twitter.com/kihWdbMvyh

— Lacey Swope (@LaceySwope) March 31, 2016

Beautiful view of the Tulsa tornado on the News OK 6 stream pic.twitter.com/3bUBxjNeMT

— Chad Cowan (@stormtimelapse) March 31, 2016

WOW! Tornadic storm seen last night near Tulsa, Oklahoma. Photo: Daniel Tolson. #Storm #Tornado #OKwx pic.twitter.com/4D01n5XPP1

— Mark Tarello (@mark_tarello) March 31, 2016

March 30, 2016, the day of the Tulsa tornadoes, marked one of the most successful intercepts for Lanny and his team documenting the entire life cycle of Tulsa area supercell's infrasound, equating to more than forty minutes of acoustic sound data from the storm. His preliminary research showed several acoustic signature spikes just prior to tornadogenesis as well as large frequency spikes when the tornado was on the ground. While his research is still preliminary, the goal is to use this perhaps revolutionary technology to study the before, during, and after acoustic behavior of supercells and tornadoes, which could aid in improving and increasing warning lead time in the future.

So not only was the Tulsa "mothership" supercell an impressive visual display of Mother Nature's fury, but also a perfect case study for tornado researchers aiming to more fully understand these types of magnificent yet violent storms.


WATCH: Time-lapse of the supercell thunderstorm.

The Tulsa tornadoes marked the first real photogenic tornado event of the severe season for the Plains. Now that it's April, storm chasers and weather enthusiasts will be flocking to big sky country in pursuit of supercells and tornadoes, including the chance to see breath-taking storm structure like what was seen around Tulsa last week.

Here are a couple more looks at the mothership supercell and the two tornadoes it produced during its life-cycle through the Tulsa area. - The Washington Post.

EXTREME WEATHER: EF2 Tornado Confirmed In Northwest Arkansas - The 11th This Year!

The National Weather Service confirms an EF2 tornado hit eastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas earlier this week.

March 26, 2016 - ARKANSAS, UNITED STATES - The National Weather Service has confirmed that an EF2 tornado hit eastern Oklahoma and northwest Arkansas earlier this week.

The National Weather Service in Tulsa, Oklahoma, says the twister had winds of 120 mph to 130 mph when it hit Wednesday night.

The tornado was on the ground for 11 miles and had a maximum width of 800 feet.

Four people were injured and a handful of homes were destroyed in the storm.

Forecasters say more severe weather could hit the eastern half of Arkansas on Sunday, with small hall and gusty winds the biggest concern.


WATCH: National Weather Service examines tornado path.

- KATV.

 

FIRE IN THE SKY: Meteor Fireball Filmed Over Tulsa, Oklahoma!

January 10, 2016 - OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES - The following video shows a meteor-fireball darting across the night sky over Tulsa, Oklahoma. The video was captured on the 9th of January, 2016.

WATCH: Fireball over Tulsa.

- YouTube.

MONUMENTAL GEOLOGICAL UPHEAVAL: Landslides And Sinkholes Keep Popping Up Across The Globe - Burundi Landslides Kill 10 Near Bujumbura; Sinkhole Swallows Midtown Tulsa Street, Oklahoma, United States; Landslide Buries Part Of Village In Java; Heavy UNSEASONAL Rains Trigger Landslide In Kashmir Burying At Least 10 People; Man Rescued From Sinkhole In McKeesport, Pennsylvania, United States!

March 30, 2015 - EARTH - Here are several of the latest reports of sinkholes across the globe as monumental planetary transformations continue.

Burundi landslides 'kill 10' near Bujumbura

This bridge was destroyed

At least 10 people are missing, feared dead, in Burundi after landslides which have destroyed hundreds of homes, officials say.

Some 3,000 people have been left homeless, according to a BBC reporter who has been to the scene.

Their houses were destroyed after mud and rocks, dislodged by the rain, plunged down the hillside.

Rivers full of rocks swept into Lake Tanganyika

Reports from the Democratic Republic of Congo say there have been similar problems across the border.

UN-backed Radio Okapi says 14 people have been killed on the Congolese side of Lake Tanganyika.

Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza has visited the scene of the landslides, 35km (20 miles) south of the capital Bujumbura.

The governor of Bujumbura district, Jacques Minani, described it as "a disaster", reports the AFP news agency.He said that the emergency services were now searching the area for survivors. - BBC.

Sinkhole Swallows Midtown Tulsa Street, Oklahoma, United States

A sinkhole opened up in a midtown Tulsa neighborhood. Traffic is being diverted from 18th Street, just east of Peoria.

Michelle Allen of the City of Tulsa said a storm sewer failed from the heavy rain last week.

A sinkhole opend up on 18th Street just east of Peoria.

Drivers are encouraged to find another route.

"The area is barricaded, and nobody was hurt," she said. "Storm water crews will be working on the repairs."

Firefighters went door to door to warn residents that a sinkhole had swallowed part of the street. Neighbors say police told them their homes are in no danger.

WATCH: Hole swallows Midtown Tulsa Street.

No word yet on how soon the sinkhole can be repaired. Drivers are encouraged to find another route. - News On 6.

Landslide buries part of village in Java after heavy rains

A landslide killed six in Java, an official said on Sunday.

A landslide killed six in Java, an official said on Sunday.

Twelve people were killed and 11 houses buried after a landslide triggered by heavy rain in Indonesia's main island of Java, an official said Sunday.

The landslide hit Tegal Panjang village in Sukabumi district in west Java late Saturday after a particularly heavy downpour, according to national disaster agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho.

"We found all 12 bodies," he said in an update, revising the earlier death toll of 10 and two missing.

He said heavy rain caused a cliff to collapse and hit the village, burying 11 houses.

Landslides triggered by heavy rain and floods are common in tropical Indonesia during the rainy season.

The national disaster agency estimates around half the country's 250 million population lives in areas prone to landslides.

The vast Indonesian archipelago, one of the world's most disaster-prone nations, is also frequently hit by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. - The Star.

Heavy unseasonal rains trigger landslide in Himalayan region of Kashmir

People watch as water flows from a broken embankment of a stream after incessant rains in Srinagar March 30, 2015.  © Reuters/Danish Ismail

A landslide in the Himalayan region of Kashmir buried at least 10 people while they were sleeping, police said on Monday, as unseasonal rains swept India, damaging crops and raising fears of flash floods in the mountainous north.

Hundreds of people fled their homes as Kashmir's main rivers began to swell and weather forecasters predicted further downpours in the region that was struck by devastating floods seven months ago.

A hillside collapsed onto a house in a village about 40 kms (25 miles) from the capital Srinagar, where three families were sleeping on Monday morning, according to Mushtaq Ahmad, a neighbor. Army and police used diggers and shovels to locate any survivors."It was a huge landslide, the entire house is covered in earth," Ahmad said. "The chance of finding everyone alive is unlikely."

Local police superintendent Fayaz Ahmad Lone said 10 people were buried in the house in the village of Ledhan. Locals said the number could be higher.

India is experiencing more extreme rainfall events as the global climate warms, a study of 50 years of data by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology concluded.

This year, March has been the wettest month in more than a century, wrecking millions of hectares of winter crops. The crop damage has been blamed for a spate of rural suicides in recent weeks.

In September, the Kashmir valley suffered the worst flooding in more than a century, killing more than 200 people and displacing almost a million for weeks. The misery has added to problems in a Muslim-majority state where a revolt against Indian rule has simmered for a quarter of a century. Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan, and claimed in full by both countries. Weather officials said heavy showers would occur in isolated places in Kashmir over the next couple days although the intensity of rain is likely to diminish. The state has received surplus rainfall in two-thirds of its districts this month. On Monday, the Kashmiri government declared a flood alert and asked people living near the river Jhelum, which flowsthrough Srinagar, to leave their homes. The government has established relief camps for those forced to flee.Mujeeb Ahmad, a doctor, left with his family on Sunday evening. "Last year my family was caught in floods and we were only rescued after four days," Ahmad said. "We don't want to take any chances." - Reuters

Man rescued from sinkhole in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, United States after he calls 911

 Rescuers pulled a man from a sinkhole that opened up on the Mansfield Bridge in McKeesport on Saturday night.

West Fifth Avenue below the bridge was closed, McKeesport Deputy Fire Chief Don Sabol said. Authorities also stopped train traffic during the rescue, he said. The cause of the sinkhole was not immediately known, Sabol said.

WATCH: Man pulled from sinkhole in McKeesport.

According to a tweet sent out by Western PA Fire News, confined space rescue was needed and the man was about ten feet down into the hole. The man was carried off on a stretcher and flown to an area hospital after firefighters rescued him. The incident was reported by emergency dispatchers around 7:30 p.m., when the man called 911 himself, after falling in the hole.

The man is in his forties and was walking to meet a friend at the Marathon gas station in McKeesport, when he fell. Officials are still investigating, what caused the sinkhole. - WPXI.

EXTREME WEATHER: Tornadoes Hit Tulsa, Oklahoma And Arkansas - One Person Killed And At Least 15 Injured; Many Homes Damaged; Thousands Without Power!

March 26, 2015 - OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES - The slow start to the nation's tornado season came to a violent end Wednesday, when tornadoes raked Tulsa during its evening rush hour, killing one person and injuring others.

Tulsa County Sheriff's Capt. Billy McKelvey said one person was killed in a mobile home park near suburban Sand Springs that was nearly destroyed Wednesday amid severe weather. It wasn't yet clear whether it was a tornado or straight-line winds that hit the park, which McKelvey said could accommodate 40 to 50 trailers. McKelvey said he believed at least 15 people were hurt, but he did not have an exact number yet.

One person was killed Wednesday when severe weather ripped through the Tulsa and Oklahoma City areas.

Storm clouds gather over downtown Tulsa, Okla., Wednesday March 25, 2015. Emergency managers reported no injuries when a late-afternoon storm
hit Sand Springs, Oklahoma, and raced eastward into Tulsa. (Christopher Smith, AP)

"It could have been much worse," he said.

Tornadoes were seen elsewhere in Oklahoma, as well as in Arkansas, but no injuries were reported from those.

A small tornado swept across parts of Moore, an Oklahoma City suburb where 24 people died in a top-of-the-scale EF5 tornado in 2013. Other twisters formed along a line from southwest of Oklahoma City to east of Tulsa, and some touched down in the Ozark Mountains of northwestern Arkansas.

Until Tuesday, when a waterspout formed over an Arkansas lake, the U.S. hadn't had a tornado in more than a month.

Television video Wednesday evening showed roof damage in a Moore neighborhood — the Moore storm two years ago scraped lots to their foundations. A glass door at the Tulsa building that houses the National Weather Service office was smashed, and several cars in the parking lot lost their windows.

Don Ruffin said he and a neighbor were at a convenience store in far southeast Moore when he saw the tornado approaching.

"I don't know how close it was to us, but it looked like it was coming toward us, and so we didn't take any chances," Ruffin said. "We got in our vehicles, ran home and got in our shelters."

Debris litters the area after a storm swept through the area and damaged homes in Sand Springs, Okla., on Wednesday, March 25, 2015. (Matt Barnard, AP)

Ruffin said after the storm passed, there were some fences knocked down and "patio furniture thrown everywhere."

Electric companies reported 27,000 homes and businesses were without power in the Oklahoma City area and 28,500 had lost power in Tulsa County. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said an overturned tractor-trailer had snarled traffic in both directions on Interstate 35, a major north-south route.

"Those troopers are working their guts out there right now," Lt. John Vincent said.

The tornado season usually ramps up for parts of the U.S. in March, but weather patterns funneled cold air into much of the country, depriving the atmosphere of the warm, moist air necessary to form bad storms for most of the month.

That all changed this week. Southerly winds pushed temperatures into the 70s and 80s across the Ozarks and Southern Plains, while weather fronts churned the air into Wednesday's storms.


WATCH: Tornado touches down near Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Meteorologist Jeff Hood in Little Rock said a weak waterspout tornado briefly touched down in Bull Shoals Lake in Marion County in northwest Arkansas on Tuesday night. He said it will likely be classified an EF0 — the weakest tornado with wind speeds of 65 to 85 mph. A waterspout forms over water. The tornado never made it onto land, and there were no reports of damage.

"This will be the 'tornado' that breaks the drought for March," Greg Carbin, warning coordination meteorologist for the Storm Prediction Center, said before Wednesday's storms hit.

Before this week, only about two-dozen twisters had been recorded this year during a period when about 120 are typical. The last time the U.S. had no twisters in March was nearly 50 years ago, according to figures from the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. - Chicago Tribune.

PLANETARY TREMORS: "Looks Like Someone Hit Our County With A Shotgun" - Earthquakes On The Rise In Oklahoma; Scientists Warn Of Larger Quake Possibilities; USGS Tracking, But Unable To Predict Seismic Behavior!

November 21, 2014 - OKLAHOMA - While the actual quakes may be centered just north of Oklahoma City, the state capitol has been the epicenter lately.

This study held by Oklahoma lawmakers was looking into the connection between oil and gas activity and earthquakes.

WATCH: Earthquakes on the rise; scientists warn of larger quake possibilities.

"It looks like someone hit our county with a shotgun with as many holes that are being punched in payne county with hydraulic fracturing and injection wells," said one speaker.

It's been such a dramatic increase the state and seismologists like Austin Holland can barely keep up.

With 4,600 quakes this year alone so far, it averages to 14 quakes a day.

"It's pretty remarkable how many significant earthquakes we've had," Holland said.

While the state's biggest quake remains at a 5.6 that hit Prague back in 2011, large quakes are happening more often. Holland says the trend doesn't bode well for the state.

"It is concerning, just for one reason, the more small and moderate sized earthquakes we have, the more likely we are to have a larger, potentially damaging earthquake, so as these earthquakes continue at this rate, we become more and more likely to have a significant earthquake," Holland said.

It's something the United State Geological Survey is tracking as well.

Seismologist Robert Williams it's something they're tracking specifically -- watching for any sign the next big one is coming, but says that's tricky.

"We really don't know the behavior and really can't predict the behavior," Williams said.

While scientists say they obviously cant predict an exact time or size of quakes, they say studying quakes that have happened and their patterns help predict patterns of future quakes.

And Oklahoma has given them plenty to work with.

"We want to be able to use these different patterns of earthquakes and timing to get a sense of the range of possibilities and be able to, make estimates and probabilities of earthquakes to occur in the future," Williams said. - FOX 25.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Seismic Swarm - "Powerful" Earthquakes Rattle And Shake Oklahoma City! [MAP+TECTONIC SUMMARY+ VIDEO]

June 16, 2014 - OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES -  Powerful earthquakes are shaking Oklahoma City and the metro early Monday morning.

USGS earthquake shakemap intensity

According to the Oklahoma Geological Survey, the first quake, a 3.3 magnitude, was reported at 5:31 a.m. about four miles north, northwest of Spencer. Dozens of News 9 viewers called and have e-mailed us to say they felt it all across central Oklahoma.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the earthquake was 3.5 in magnitude.

News 9 was on the air when we felt it at our studios near Wilshire and Kelley Avenue.


WATCH: Morning Earthquakes Shaking OKC Metro.

A second, more powerful quake was felt at 5:47 a.m. According to the Oklahoma Geological Survey, this earthquake was 4.5 in magnitude, and was centered about two miles west, northwest of Jones.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported that this earthquake was 4.2 in magnitude.

It was felt as far away as Enid and Shawnee. And again, at 6:25 a.m., a 3.3 magnitude earthquake was recorded five miles northwest of Jones. - News9.

Tectonic Summary - Earthquakes in the Stable Continental Region

Natural Occurring Earthquake Activity
Most of North America east of the Rocky Mountains has infrequent earthquakes. Here and there earthquakes are more numerous, for example in the New Madrid seismic zone centered on southeastern Missouri, in the Charlevoix-Kamouraska seismic zone of eastern Quebec, in New England, in the New York - Philadelphia - Wilmington urban corridor, and elsewhere. However, most of the enormous region from the Rockies to the Atlantic can go years without an earthquake large enough to be felt, and several U.S. states have never reported a damaging earthquake.

Earthquakes east of the Rocky Mountains, although less frequent than in the West, are typically felt over a much broader region than earthquakes of similar magnitude in the west. East of the Rockies, an earthquake can be felt over an area more than ten times larger than a similar magnitude earthquake on the west coast. It would not be unusual for a magnitude 4.0 earthquake in eastern or central North America to be felt by a significant percentage of the population in many communities more than 100 km (60 mi) from its source. A magnitude 5.5 earthquake in eastern or central North America might be felt by much of the population out to more than 500 km (300 mi) from its source. Earthquakes east of the Rockies that are centered in populated areas and large enough to cause damage are, similarly, likely to cause damage out to greater distances than earthquakes of the same magnitude centered in western North America.

Most earthquakes in North America east of the Rockies occur as faulting within bedrock, usually miles deep. Few earthquakes east of the Rockies, however, have been definitely linked to mapped geologic faults, in contrast to the situation at plate boundaries such as California's San Andreas fault system, where scientists can commonly use geologic evidence to identify a fault that has produced a large earthquake and that is likely to produce large future earthquakes. Scientists who study eastern and central North America earthquakes often work from the hypothesis that modern earthquakes occur as the result of slip on preexisting faults that were formed in earlier geologic eras and that have been reactivated under the current stress conditions. The bedrock of Eastern North America is, however, laced with faults that were active in earlier geologic eras, and few of these faults are known to have been active in the current geologic era. In most areas east of the Rockies, the likelihood of future damaging earthquakes is currently estimated from the frequencies and sizes of instrumentally recorded earthquakes or earthquakes documented in historical records.

Induced Seismicity
As is the case elsewhere in the world, there is evidence that some central and eastern North America earthquakes have been triggered or caused by human activities that have altered the stress conditions in earth's crust sufficiently to induce faulting. Activities that have induced felt earthquakes in some geologic environments have included impoundment of water behind dams, injection of fluid into the earth's crust, extraction of fluid or gas, and removal of rock in mining or quarrying operations. In much of eastern and central North America, the number of earthquakes suspected of having been induced is much smaller than the number of natural earthquakes, but in some regions, such as the south-central states of the U.S., a significant majority of recent earthquakes are thought by many seismologists to have been human-induced. Even within areas with many human-induced earthquakes, however, the activity that seems to induce seismicity at one location may be taking place at many other locations without inducing felt earthquakes. In addition, regions with frequent induced earthquakes may also be subject to damaging earthquakes that would have occurred independently of human activity. Making a strong scientific case for a causative link between a particular human activity and a particular sequence of earthquakes typically involves special studies devoted specifically to the question. Such investigations usually address the process by which the suspected triggering activity might have significantly altered stresses in the bedrock at the earthquake source, and they commonly address the ways in which the characteristics of the suspected human-triggered earthquakes differ from the characteristics of natural earthquakes in the region. - USGS.

PLANETARY TREMORS: "We Haven't Seen This Before" - The USGS Issues RARE Earthquake Warning For Oklahoma!

May 06, 2014 - OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES - Mile for mile, there are almost as many earthquakes rattling Oklahoma as California this year. This major increase in seismic shaking led to a rare earthquake warning today (May 5) from the U.S. Geological Survey and the Oklahoma Geological Survey.

Oklahoma earthquakes. USGS

In a joint statement, the agencies said the risk of a damaging earthquake - one larger than magnitude 5.0 - has significantly increased in central Oklahoma.

Geologists don't know when or where the state's next big earthquake will strike, nor will they put a number on the increased risk. "We haven't seen this before in Oklahoma, so we had some concerns about putting a specific number on the chances of it," Robert Williams, a research geophysicist with the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program in Golden, Colorado, told Live Science. "But we know from other cases around the world that if you have an increasing number of small earthquakes, the chances of a larger one will go up."

That's why earthquakes of magnitude 5 and larger are more frequent in states such as California and Alaska, where thousands of smaller temblors hit every year.

This is the first time the USGS has issued an earthquake warning for a state east of the Rockies, Williams said. Such seismic hazard assessments are more typically issued for Western states following large quakes, to warn residents of the risk of damaging aftershocks, he said.

Oklahoma earthquakes. USGS

The geological agencies took action after the rate of earthquakes in Oklahoma outpaced that of even California for the first few months of 2014. (California regained the lead in April.)

"The rate of earthquakes increased dramatically in March and April," Williams said. "That alerted us to examine this further and put out this advisory statement."

While Oklahoma's buildings can withstand light earthquakes, the damage from a magnitude-5 temblor could be widespread. Oklahoma's last major earthquake was in November 2011, when a magnitude-5.6 earthquake centered near Prague, Oklahoma, destroyed 14 homes and injured at least two people.

"Building owners and government officials should have a special concern for older, unreinforced brick structures, which are vulnerable to serious damage during sufficient shaking," Bill Leith, a USGS senior science adviser for earthquakes and geologic hazards, said in the joint statement.

While scientists haven't ruled out natural causes for the increase, many researchers suspect the deep injection wells used for the disposal of fracking wastewater could be causing the earthquake activity. Fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, is a method of extracting oil and gas by cracking open underground rock.

Ongoing studies have found a link between Oklahoma's high-volume wastewater injection wells and regions with an uptick in earthquakes.


WATCH: 2500+ Oklahoma Earthquakes Since 2012.

According to the USGS, the number of quakes magnitude-3 and stronger jumped by 50 percent in the past eight months in Oklahoma. Some 183 earthquakes of magnitude 3 or greater struck between October 2013 and April 14, 2014. The state's long-term average from 1978 to 2008 was only two earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or larger per year.

If the earthquakes are caused by wastewater injection, then the activity could continue or decrease with future changes in well usage in the state.

"We don't know if this earthquake rate is going to continue," Williams said. "It could go to a higher rate or lower, so the increased chances of a damaging quake could change in the future." - Live Science.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Seismic Swarm - ODOT Concerned About Earthquakes' Effect On Oklahoma Bridges!

April 09, 2014 - OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES - It seems like barely a day goes by without an earthquake in our state. In fact, last week Oklahoma had 11 percent of all the earthquakes in the world.

After every major quake, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation checks the bridges
within a five to 10 mile radius of the epicenter.

That has the state Department of Transportation concerned about bridges and how they are holding up.

"It certainly has had our attention," Terri Angier, ODOT's chief of media and public relations, said.

So much so, that after every major quake the Oklahoma Department of Transportation checks the bridges within a five to 10 mile radius of the epicenter.

"We dispatch inspectors and our own crews to do a visual inspection to see if there's anything that may catch their attention to take a closer look." Angier said.

"We don't know what it's doing to the roadways, more specifically we don't know what it's doing to our bridges," ODOT Director Mike Patterson told transportation commissioners yesterday.

Patterson was briefing commissioners on a recent meeting with earthquake experts and engineers from California.


WATCH: ODOT Concerned About Earthquakes' Effect On Oklahoma Bridges

"If this is the new norm for Oklahoma, we need to get on board with how to design bridges that can withstand possibly THE earthquake."

Angier said Oklahoma bridges are already designed to withstand some vibrations, but over the next couple months ODOT will look see if that is enough. If engineers determine changes are necessary, the next step would likely be to hire a consultant that would advise them on how to make bridges more earthquake proof.

Angier said inspectors only found damage to a bridge one time and that was after the Prague earthquake. - NewsOn6.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Seismic Swarm - Series Of Small Quakes Rock Oklahoma In RECORD Seismic Activity!

April 07, 2014 - OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES - Earthquakes rattled residents in Oklahoma on Saturday, the latest in a series that have put the state on track for record quake activity this year, which some seismologists say may be tied to oil and gas exploration.

USGS earthquake location map.

One earthquake recorded at 3.8 magnitude by the U.S. Geological Survey rocked houses in several communities around central Oklahoma at 7:42 a.m. local time. Another about two hours earlier in the same part of the state, north of Oklahoma City, was recorded at 2.9 magnitude, USGS said.



Those two were preceded by two more, at 2.6 magnitude, and 2.5 magnitude, that also rolled the landscape in central Oklahoma early Saturday morning. A 3.0 magnitude tremor struck late Friday night in that area as well, following a 3.4 magnitude hit Friday afternoon.

Austin Holland, a seismologist with the Oklahoma Geological Survey who tracks earthquake activity for the USGS, said the earthquake activity in the state is soaring.

"We have had almost as many magnitude 3 and greater already in 2014 than we did for all of 2013," Holland said.

Last year's number of "felt" earthquakes - those strong enough to rattle items on a shelf - hit a record 222 in the state. This year, less than four months into the year, the state has recorded 253 such tremors, according to state seismic data.

"We have already crushed last year's record for number of earthquakes," Holland said.

Most earthquakes occur naturally. But scientists have long linked some small earthquakes to oil and gas work underground, which can alter pressure points and cause shifts in the earth.

Oil and gas exploration has increased in recent years across the country, spurred by U.S. efforts for energy independence. Modern hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is one particularly controversial technique.



For bigger quakes, so far this year the state has recorded 106 at 3.0 magnitude and above, according to Holland. For all of last year the state had 109 at 3.0 and above.

In November 2011, Oklahoma suffered a 5.6 magnitude quake that damaged more than a dozen homes and several businesses.

Wastewater disposal related to the fracking is suspected by many scientists to contribute to the earthquake activity. Millions of gallons of wastewater are typically trucked from a fracking site to wells where the water is injected thousands of feet underground into porous rock layers. That work, if done near a fault, can trigger larger quakes, according to several recent scientific studies.

Oklahoma recorded 278 earthquakes from 2008 through 2013 that have registered on the Richter scale at a magnitude of 3.0 or greater, a level that can shake objects inside a home.

Before that, from 1975-2008, the state on average recorded less than six earthquakes a year. - NBC.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Oklahoma Earthquakes - Ongoing Swarm Produces State's Strongest Quakes Of 2014; Magnitude 4.5 Temblor Hits North Of Crescent, One Of 11 Tremors To Hit From Saturday To Sunday!

March 30, 2014 - OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES - A swarm of earthquakes began in central Oklahoma Saturday and continues Sunday, producing the state's strongest quakes so far in 2014, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

USGS earthquakes location map.

The primary swarm of earthquakes has been centered in northwestern Logan County and northeastern Kingfisher County, about 12 miles north of Crescent, or about 46 miles north of Oklahoma City.

In that cluster, the USGS has recorded 11 earthquakes ranging in magnitude from 2.6 to 4.5 between 10 p.m. CDT Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday.

A magnitude-4.5 jolt at 9:09 a.m. CDT Sunday became the state's strongest earthquake so far in 2014. Earlier in the swarm, two earthquakes measuring 4.3 on the moment magnitude scale had been the strongest earthquakes so far in 2014 in Oklahoma, eclipsing a 4.1 jolt centered near Langston on Feb. 8.

USGS shakemap intensity for the 4.5 magnitude earthquake.

Those magnitude-4.3 tremors, which occurred at 1:51 a.m. and 3:42 a.m. CDT Sunday respectively, were both felt across a wide area. The "Did You Feel It?" section of the USGS website received reports of shaking as far north as the Kansas City metropolitan area and as far south as Norman, Okla., from both earthquakes. Vibrations were also felt as far east as the Tulsa area from both incidents.

A separate cluster of earthquakes occurred near Choctaw, an eastern suburb of Oklahoma City, on Saturday and Saturday night. Six earthquakes ranging in magnitude from 2.4 to 3.7 were reported between 1 a.m. CDT Saturday and 1 a.m. CDT Sunday. The strongest temblor occurred at 10:08 p.m. Saturday and was felt across much of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area.

Earlier this month, a study confirmed that Oklahoma's strongest recent earthquake, a damaging magnitude-5.7 quake in 2011 near Prague, was caused by wastewater injection related to hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, a method of gas and oil extraction. - Wunderground.

Tectonic Summary - Earthquakes in the Stable Continental Region

Natural Occurring Earthquake Activity

Most of North America east of the Rocky Mountains has infrequent earthquakes. Here and there earthquakes are more numerous, for example in the New Madrid seismic zone centered on southeastern Missouri, in the Charlevoix-Kamouraska seismic zone of eastern Quebec, in New England, in the New York - Philadelphia - Wilmington urban corridor, and elsewhere. However, most of the enormous region from the Rockies to the Atlantic can go years without an earthquake large enough to be felt, and several U.S. states have never reported a damaging earthquake.

Earthquakes east of the Rocky Mountains, although less frequent than in the West, are typically felt over a much broader region than earthquakes of similar magnitude in the west. East of the Rockies, an earthquake can be felt over an area more than ten times larger than a similar magnitude earthquake on the west coast. It would not be unusual for a magnitude 4.0 earthquake in eastern or central North America to be felt by a significant percentage of the population in many communities more than 100 km (60 mi) from its source. A magnitude 5.5 earthquake in eastern or central North America might be felt by much of the population out to more than 500 km (300 mi) from its source. Earthquakes east of the Rockies that are centered in populated areas and large enough to cause damage are, similarly, likely to cause damage out to greater distances than earthquakes of the same magnitude centered in western North America.

USGS Oklahoma Seismicity Map - 1973 to March 2012

Most earthquakes in North America east of the Rockies occur as faulting within bedrock, usually miles deep. Few earthquakes east of the Rockies, however, have been definitely linked to mapped geologic faults, in contrast to the situation at plate boundaries such as California's San Andreas fault system, where scientists can commonly use geologic evidence to identify a fault that has produced a large earthquake and that is likely to produce large future earthquakes. Scientists who study eastern and central North America earthquakes often work from the hypothesis that modern earthquakes occur as the result of slip on preexisting faults that were formed in earlier geologic eras and that have been reactivated under the current stress conditions. The bedrock of Eastern North America is, however, laced with faults that were active in earlier geologic eras, and few of these faults are known to have been active in the current geologic era. In most areas east of the Rockies, the likelihood of future damaging earthquakes is currently estimated from the frequencies and sizes of instrumentally recorded earthquakes or earthquakes documented in historical records.

Induced Seismicity

As is the case elsewhere in the world, there is evidence that some central and eastern North America earthquakes have been triggered or caused by human activities that have altered the stress conditions in earth's crust sufficiently to induce faulting. Activities that have induced felt earthquakes in some geologic environments have included impoundment of water behind dams, injection of fluid into the earth's crust, extraction of fluid or gas, and removal of rock in mining or quarrying operations. In much of eastern and central North America, the number of earthquakes suspected of having been induced is much smaller than the number of natural earthquakes, but in some regions, such as the south-central states of the U.S., a significant majority of recent earthquakes are thought by many seismologists to have been human-induced. Even within areas with many human-induced earthquakes, however, the activity that seems to induce seismicity at one location may be taking place at many other locations without inducing felt earthquakes. In addition, regions with frequent induced earthquakes may also be subject to damaging earthquakes that would have occurred independently of human activity. Making a strong scientific case for a causative link between a particular human activity and a particular sequence of earthquakes typically involves special studies devoted specifically to the question. Such investigations usually address the process by which the suspected triggering activity might have significantly altered stresses in the bedrock at the earthquake source, and they commonly address the ways in which the characteristics of the suspected human-triggered earthquakes differ from the characteristics of natural earthquakes in the region. - USGS.

PLANETARY TREMORS: A Very Sharp Rise In Earthquakes Puts Oklahomans On Edge - 15 Temblors Recorded In Oklahoma Since Friday!

March 23, 2014 - OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES -  The U.S. Geological Survey has recorded 15 earthquakes in Oklahoma since about 9:30 p.m. Friday, the largest being a magnitude 4.0.

Earthquakes in Oklahoma over the last seven days.
USGS map.

The 4.0 magnitude quake was recorded at 10:05 p.m. Friday about seven miles south of Langston. Three other quakes of magnitude 2.9, 3.0 and 3.3 were recorded Saturday afternoon in the Medford area.

The other quakes ranged from magnitude 2.4 to 2.9.

No injuries or damage are reported.

Geologists say earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 to 3.0 are generally the smallest felt by humans.

Scientists are studying why earthquake activity has increased in Oklahoma and whether it is connected to wastewater disposal related to oil and gas production -- but have found no answers.

The energy industry denies that the method is to blame for the increased seismic activity. - News 9.

PLANETARY TREMORS: A Sharp Rise In Earthquakes Puts Oklahomans On Edge - The Yearly Average Of 50 Tremors Skyrockets To Almost 3,000 In 2013?! UPDATE: Strong 4.2 Magnitude Earthquake Jolts Sleepy Central Oklahoma!

February 17, 2014 - OKLAHOMA, UNITED STATES - For the past three decades, Oklahoma averaged about 50 earthquakes a year. But that number has skyrocketed in the past few years. In 2013 — the state's most seismically active year ever — there were almost 3,000.

Chad Devereaux cleans up bricks that fell from his in-laws' home in Sparks, Okla., in November 2011,
after two earthquakes hit the area in less than 24 hours. Sue Ogrocki/AP

The quakes are small, and they're concentrated in the central part of the state, where the Erwins live.

Amanda Erwin says that even on a clear day, she knows something's up when the thunder begins: The chandelier swings, and the walls and bed start rumbling. Her husband, Keith, says the earthquakes remind him of the artillery he used to hear growing up near a military base. And when the sound and shaking fade, the game starts.

"We're just trying to look at each other, and we play this game: What do you think it was? Er, 2.5? Nah, that had to have been a 3.0," he says. "It's a daily thing."

In October, the that Oklahoma's risk of quakes has increased tenfold. The swarm of earthquakes includes Oklahoma's largest ever, a that struck east of Oklahoma City in 2011.

"That doesn't mean that there's going to be a large earthquake tomorrow, or next month, or next year even. But those probabilities are up very substantially," says , senior science adviser for earthquake and geologic hazards at the USGS.

He says there's linking Oklahoma's earthquakes to the state's large oil and gas industry. When they drill, toxic fluid from hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and other types of drilling is injected deep underground. That can change pressures near fault lines, says , a seismologist at Cornell University.

"We can show that it's quite reasonable that water flowing from these wells is actually triggering these earthquakes," Keranen says.

But while scientists say the quakes are likely connected to the wells, there's no proof. That's why regulators aren't considering new rules or laws.

Austin Holland, a research seismologist with the Oklahoma Geological Survey, says oil and gas activity might trigger earthquakes, but it could just be a natural increase.

"I don't think we can, at this point, attribute all the earthquakes to some sort of man-made cause," Holland says.

In the fall, state regulators along the Oklahoma-Texas border to reduce injection volume and pressure after a series of earthquakes nearby. But the state might allow an experiment — to let the company increase the injections to see if it does trigger more rumbling. Scientists, like Holland, would monitor the outcome.

"Or, no earthquakes happen and we say, 'Wow, that was the most amazing coincidence we've seen,' and we move on," Holland says.

Back at the Erwin home, every little noise or rumble sends them scrambling for the iPad to see if they felt a real earthquake or a phantom.

"You feel like you're playing Battleship," says Amanda Erwin. "You look at the map, and you see these little pings of all the different places where they hit." - NPR.

4.2 Magnitude Earthquake Jolts Sleepy Central Oklahoma

Earthquakes in Oklahoma over the last 7 days. Image: USGS.

Same song. Different verse. Central Oklahoma was again rocked by a palpable earthquake late Sunday night.

A seventh earthquake struck around the Guthrie/Edmond area just before 11 p.m. on Sunday. The latest temblor was the strongest of the bunch, weighing in at a solid 4.2 on the Richter scale, at a depth of just over three miles.

The epicenter of this latest earthquake was located six miles south southwest of the town of Guthrie, eight miles north of Edmond, or about 21 miles north of the Oklahoma City metro. As with all of this weekend's tremors, several News 9 viewers from all over the state reported feeling the vibrations.

There has been no official word of any injuries or damage associated with any of the earthquakes this weekend. 

Friday was the most seismically active of the recent earthquake outbreak. Five earthquakes struck throughout the day, all in between the cities of Edmond and Guthrie, ranging in magnitudes from 2.7 and 3.1.

Saturday saw a single earthquake rattle through roughly the same area. That quake was recorded as a 3.5.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from 2.5 to 3.0 are generally the smallest ones felt by humans. - News 9.

FIRE IN THE SKY: Texas Couple In Roanoke Find Meteorites From Friday's Meteor Fireball!

January 28, 2014 - TEXAS, UNITED STATES - It started as the search for a needle in an interplanetary haystack.

A video posted by TXCODENINJA on YouTube shows what appears to be a falling meteor
(indicated by the yellow arrow) on January 24, 2014.  © TXCODENINJA / YouTube

Could Wayne and Darla Janca of Roanoke find what came flying through the sky on Friday night?

They and untold others saw the meteor on their drive home from dinner in Southlake. Some even captured the glowing meteor on video as it shot through the atmosphere.

"We both looked at each other and said, 'That looks like it hit pretty close to home," said Darla Janca.

After a good night's sleep, Wayne and his wife followed their hunch.

Wayne and Darla Janca of Roanoke believe they discovered fragments of a meteor that fell to
Earth near their home on January 24, 2014  © WFAA

"The next day we went out and were looking in the dirt, seeing if we can find anything," Wayne said. "Right before we gave up, I looked down at my foot and there it was! It looked like liquid metal melted into the ground."

The discovery was made in Roanoke, not far from the Jancas' home. But what they dug up may have traveled millions of miles to get here.

"We started digging down and found more and more and more and found a pretty good handful of it," Wayne said.


WATCH: Roanoke couple convinced they've found a falling star.

The couple immediately felt this was part of the meteorite. To test their theory, Darla went online.

"I read how to do a test to see if you found one and it was using a magnet - and sure enough, we got a magnet, and it did adhere to that magnet real quick," she said.

The Jancas plan to have their discovery checked out by local experts at TCU's Oscar E. Monnig Meteorite Gallery in Fort Worth.

In the meantime, they're enjoying the thought of their out-of-this-world find.

"It's a neat story to catch a falling star!" Wayne said. - KHOU.

FIRE IN THE SKY: Meteor Fireball Seen By Many Over Oklahoma And Texas!

January 26, 2014 - UNITED STATES - Did you see a flash across the Friday night sky?

File illustration.

NewsChannel 4 had reports of a meteor being seen from people in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Many folks are talking about seeing it in Texas and Arkansas.

Let us know if you saw anything and share you pictures or video.

Check out this video posted earlier this evening claiming to be of it:


WATCH:  Meteor fireball over Garland, Texas.

- KFOR.

ICE AGE NOW: United Stats Coast Guard Battles Ice To Keep Shipping Channels Open - Earliest The Ice Has Frozen In The Great Lakes Since The 1930s!

January 10, 2014 - UNITED STATES - In the midst of record-breaking bitter cold, the U.S. Coast Guard has been relentlessly fighting against ice buildup in the Great Lakes region in an effort to keep important shipping channels open.

A massive swath of arctic air, known as a “Polar Vortex,” plunged temperatures well below zero from Chicago to Tulsa. In those temperatures, ice can form up to a foot thick in the rivers that connect the Great Lakes.

The Coast Guard uses ice cutters — heavy ships that have thick, reinforced hulls and polar ice-breaking bows — to clear the major shipping route that separates the U.S. and Canada, so that freight-carrying ships can get through. Without the ice cutters, large freighters can get stuck.

The ice cutters cut tracks throughout the channels, up and down the St. Mary’s River and through the Soo Locks. For those officers who work on the ice cutter boats, the job is far from easy.

“Some days, if you get strong wind, it will blow the track that you spent so much time building, say all day long, and it’ll blow it out of the channel,” said Lt. Commander John Henry on the Coast Guard cutter Bristol Bay. “Those days, those days are difficult.”

The Bristol Bay is one of four ice cutters that have been working around the clock to keep the shipping lanes open for freighters that use the Great Lakes and connecting channels to deliver goods between the Midwest and the East Coast. These massive ships range in length from 730 feet to over 1,000 feet — a ship that is 730 feet long can carry 37,000 tons.

“The biggest cargo for these lakers: iron ore, coal, heating oil and grain,” Henry said. “They pretty much come and service all the Great Lakes, coming through the Soo Locks and then heading either to Lake Erie or Lake Michigan.”

The Coast Guard said it was the earliest the ice had frozen here since the 1930s, and the river connecting Lakes Superior and Huron has been some of the toughest ice they have seen. With cutting through ice, the noise is loud and constant.

“Anytime you hit any type of ice, sound magnifies, especially when you’re going through some pretty thick stuff,” Henry said. “It’s like a constant explosion, especially when you do this all day long from sun up to sun down. But you get used to it. That’s the beauty of ice breaking. … We’re out here because we want to be.” - WWGP.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Seismic Activity Increasing - Oklahoma Quakes Causing Many To Be Rattled!

November 11, 2013 - UNITED STATES - The Earth under central Oklahoma continues to move as another earthquake rattled residents in Edmond, Sunday evening.

The quake weighed in at a magnitude of 3.4 on the Richter Scale, according to a report by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

The shaking started just before 5:30 p.m. about four miles north northeast of Edmond, or about 17 miles north
northeast of the Oklahoma City metro area, at a depth of three miles. (Photo courtesy USGS.gov)

The shaking started just before 5:30 p.m. about four miles north northeast of Edmond, or about 17 miles north northeast of the Oklahoma City metro area, at a depth of three miles.

The recent uptick in Earthquake activity has led to an increase in Oklahomans inquiring about adding earthquake insurance to their homeowner's policies.

"Most [people call asking] ‘What does it take to get additional coverage for earthquake type insurance?'" said Lance Singleton, the Chief Financial Officer for the Oklahoma Agency Alliance (OAA).

OAA represents 93 insurance carriers, and Singleton says getting earthquake insurance is fairly cheap and simple.

"A $100,000 home…can be endorsed maybe as low as $45, and it could be as much as $200 to $300," Singleton said.

A smaller quake struck in the same area at approximately 9 p.m. The USGS recorded that quake at a 2.2 magnitude.

No damage or injuries have been reported with either earthquake.

According to the USGS, quakes with magnitudes from 2.5 to 3 are generally the smallest ones felt by humans. - News 9.

Nineteen earthquakes have shaken parts of the metro area over the last seven days, causing little damage but fraying more than a few nerves.

Road crews were dispatched to inspect Oklahoma County highways, roads and bridges but no damage was found, transportation officials said Friday.

The largest of these quakes had a magnitude of 3.8, not likely to cause serious damage but strong enough to do minor damage or knock unsecured items off shelves, said Rob Williams, a U.S. Geological Survey geophysicist in Golden, Colo.

Six of the 19 recent earthquakes have had a magnitude greater than 3.

Warren Vieth lives in the Apple Valley neighborhood in far northeast Oklahoma City, near where many of the recent earthquakes have occurred.

He said the 3.8 quake on Monday night was intense.

“Holy Moly. That was one, big, kick-ass quake,”he said. “Felt like a bulldozer hitting the side of the house. I was standing in the kitchen and watched the cabinet doors rattle open and shut.”

Williams said these quakes are likely connected to a central Oklahoma swarm of earthquakes that have been occurring since 2009. The swarm's cause remains under study.

Crews from Oklahoma County, the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority and the Oklahoma Department of Transportation have examined bridges, roads and highways.

Some of the earthquakes have been centered on or near the Kilpatrick Turnpike, but no damage has been found. - NewsOK.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Seismic Activity Increasing - Latest Earthquakes In Oklahoma Could Be Tied To Lake Arcadia?!

November 08, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Oklahoma's 4-year-long earthquake swarm suddenly has more people talking. That is likely due to the fact that the most recent burst of seismic activity has been shaking homes and rattling nerves in northeast Oklahoma City, an area far more densely populated that other areas that have been hit.

This latest mini-swarm of earthquakes has been packed tightly in an area just south of Arcadia Lake,
and it seems they could be tied to the lake itself.

But the quakes also have Oklahoma's top earthquake researcher talking about a unique possible cause.
This latest mini-swarm of earthquakes has been packed tightly in an area just south of Arcadia Lake, and it seems they could be tied to the lake itself.

Geologists in the Corporation Commission's oil and gas division have been busy gathering data the last several days and send it off to the Oklahoma Geological Survey, as they do in the wake of most seismic events.

Typically, they put together information on nearby wells -- injection wells or just oil and gas producing wells -- and this case has been no different. Preliminary data shows a number of active disposal wells in the vicinity of the earthquakes, but none right on top of them.

"I think with the latest slate of earthquakes," said Corporation Commissioner Dana Murphy, "there really weren't any disposal wells any closer than, I think, six miles."

At the Oklahoma Geological Survey, research seismologist Austin Holland says the earthquakes are just too far from any active wells.

"And so there's no reason at this point to think [the earthquakes] are induced," Holland said, in a phone conversation this afternoon.

But the Corporation Commission also passed along data on lake levels at Arcadia -- data that certain got Holland's attention.

Normal water volume at Arcadia Lake is about 30,000 acre feet, but last June it spiked to 57,000 acre feet -- almost double the volume, and thus also the weight.

A graphic produced by the Corporation Commission shows a spiking water level in red, and the recent spike in seismic activity in blue, and they mirror each other almost exactly.


WATCH: Latest Swarm Of OK Earthquakes Could Be Tied To Lake Arcadia.

Holland says there are known cases of seismicity being caused by the filling or draining of nearby reservoirs, and that could be the case here.

"There's oftentimes quite long delays," Holland explained, "three to six months between filling of reservoirs or large rainfall events, and these earthquakes that potentially get tied to those events."

Holland says there are couple of ways that Arcadia could have triggered the quakes. The sheer weight of the water this summer, or the sudden decrease in weight, as water was released. Either could have impacted a sub-surface that is already under stress.

He says he'll need more time and data, however, before he can draw any conclusions.

 - News9.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Seismic Activity Increasing In Oklahoma - 12 Earthquakes Hit Oklahoma City On Monday And Tuesday!

November 07, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Another earthquake rattled the central Oklahoma area Monday night.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the 3.9 magnitude earthquake was recorded just after 10 p.m. Its epicenter was located four miles north, northwest of Jones, eight miles east, southeast of Edmond, nine miles north, northwest of Choctaw, 12 miles north, northeast of Midwest City, and 14 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.

It was about five miles deep.

The Oklahoma Geological Survey reports that the earthquake was 4.0 in magnitude.


No injuries or damage were immediately reported following this earthquake.

Many News 9 viewers in the Oklahoma City metro area, including Oklahoma City, Edmond, Midwest City, Choctaw, and Yukon reported feeling the earthquake. According to the Oklahoma Geological Survey, 11 earthquakes were recorded in Oklahoma on Monday. - News On 6.


Just hours after a 3.9 magnitude earthquake rattled people in central Oklahoma out of their beds, another quake shook them awake early Tuesday morning.

According the U.S. Geological Survey, the 3.2 magnitude quake struck just after 2:30 a.m. November 5. It was centered four miles northwest of Spencer, and eight miles north northeast of Oklahoma City. There have been no reports of damage.

The quake hit four-and-a-half hours after a 3.9 magnitude quake was reported near Jones.

The recent swarm of temblors has pushed many Oklahomans to buy earthquake insurance. - News 9.

PLANETARY TREMORS: Seismic Swarm - More Than 200 Earthquakes Have Shaken Oklahoma Since 2009!

October 24, 2013 - UNITED STATES - Oklahoma often gets the short end of the natural disaster stick. Though it's well known as a hotspot for tornado activity and has a history of severe flooding, Oklahoma has also had more than its fair share of earthquakes in the past few years.

Oklahoma Earthquake: Seismic activity in Oklahoma since 1973. Red dots show earthquakes between
1973 and 2008, while blue dots show earthquakes 2008-2011. The star indicates
the 5.6 earthquake in Prague. via OGS

According to the U.S. Geological Survey and the Oklahoma Geological Survey, there's been a significant rise in the frequency of seismic events since 2009. More than 200 earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 3.0 (big enough for people to feel) occurred in central Oklahoma during that period.

The number of magnitude 3.0 earthquakes in the region has risen to an average of 40 per year since 2009, compared to only three per year between 1975 and 2008. While swarms of earthquakes can be part of the natural seismic patterns of a region, linked to volcanic or tectonic activity, the USGS analysis suggests this isn't what's happening in Oklahoma. "We've statistically analyzed the recent earthquake rate changes and found that they do not seem to be due to typical, random fluctuations in natural seismicity rates," says USGS seismologist Bill Leith.

Some geologists have argued that the largest earthquake in Oklahoma's recorded history, the 5.6 magnitude quake that hit Prague, Okla., in 2011, was the result of wastewater injection from oil and natural gas operations. in 2011, a USGS study determined several minor earthquakes in Oklahoma to be the likely result of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), which uses pressurized fluid injection to create small underground fractures to release oil or gas.

The greater problem, though, isn't the fracking itself, but the wastewater it generates. According to Mother Jones, the oil and natural gas industry generates 878 billion gallons of wastewater every year, injecting about a third of it back into the earth. Injecting all this fluid into the ground can elevate the pressure near faults, causing them to slip, resulting in quakes. Deep mining can also cause moderate earthquakes, according to the USGS.

The USGS says it is working with the Oklahoma Geological Survey to determine further to what extent activities like wastewater disposal is triggering these earthquake swarms. - POPSCI.