Topic: Twin 4.0+ Earthquakes Rock Northwest Oklahoma

[Bunty]

I was watching channel 5 news from OKC during a commercial when I sensed some shaking while seated in my recliner.  I asked myself was that an earthquake? Then the news returned with them commenting an earthquake just happened and the studio lights were still shaking.  Since the earthquake didn't come with a loud noise, it didn't startle me, like they tend to do when they're centered  much closer to me.

http://okcfox.com/news/oklahoma-earthquakes/third-fourth-40-quake-in-2016-reported

The frequency of 2.0 earthquakes or greater are trying to get close to peak levels again.

http://stillwaterweather.com/okareaearthquakes.php

[Yfory]

I am running a home built 24 bit seismometer and I occasionally detect an Oklahoma event. The reading I got from the recent M 4.8 is the largest magnitude I have ever detected in Oklahoma on my system. But you must understand that there is 1300 miles of earth between the quake to my seismograph.

My system has been running about 3 years.

The shape of the wave forms are the strangest I have even seen. They seem to be a series of very sharp singular events in a cluster of similar peak heights. The entire cluster time of singular appearing peaks is about 7 seconds in length - all major peaks occurred in 7 seconds total. My system is home made and this single event is not typical of all seismograph readings of this event. I am using a high pass filter corner at 1.43 Hz and a sample rate of 17.7. Damping on this system is electronic and good but not perfect.

My general comment would be that this was an odd event and should be of some concern and should be studied very carefully.

[WeatherHost]

OOOOk-lahoma, where the quakes come sweepin' cross the plains,


Maybe they'll rename it Quakelahoma?

[Harryca]

Another mag 4.0 occurred about an hour ago.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us10004c72#general_summary

Amazing, 31 quakes (2.5 and higher) in the Fairview. OK area in the last 7 days.

[WeatherHost]

Oklahoma hit with 70 quakes in a week
USA TODAY    - ‎1 hour ago‎   

   
A swarm of more than 70 small earthquakes has rattled Oklahoma in the past week, raising concerns that the state's quake problem is getting worse.

[Bunty]

The politics of the earthquakes seem to be the Republicans support them because their geologists tell them the 2s and 3s are working to relieve pressure, so there won't be a big 5 or 6 one. If injected wells are halted, it's liable to make earthquakes worse.    Democrats want all the injection wells halted in earthquake prone areas, because their geologists tell them the earthquakes are slowly building up to a big one.   Science appears to be lacking in an unified response to the problem.

My state rep, Cory Williams told the New York Times:  “Absent a catastrophic loss of life or property, there will be zero reaction from the Oklahoma House or Senate. They don’t want to touch it.”  Both the House and Senate are strongly Republican controlled.

Anyway,  a couple of Democrat legislators, including the one quoted above, will host a public hearing on the earthquakes at the State Capitol on Friday to feature expert speakers on the issue:

-- Todd Halihan, a hydrogeology professor at Oklahoma State University;
-- Scott Poynter, an Arkansas attorney who represents Oklahomans who have filed personal injury and property damage lawsuits against the industry for damages attributed to manmade earthquakes;
-- Petroleum geologist and former U.S. and international oil and gas operator Bob Jackman of Tulsa;
-- Johnson Bridgwater, director of the Oklahoma chapter of the Sierra Club;
-- Michael Root, a certified petroleum geologist and certified independent professional earth scientist who is CEO of TerraQuest Corp. in Edmond.

[Bunty]

My state Rep. Cory Williams had a few interesting things to say about the earthquakes at a town hall meeting in Stillwater Thurs. night. Most of what he said, such as him saying he overheard attorneys saying they were screwing the state, was not mentioned in a Stillwater News Press article about the town hall. But you can hear what all he had to say here in this 8 min. audio: http://okieworld.com/williamsonearthquakes.mp3

[chief-david]

Oklahoma-Tornado and Earthquake capitol of the world.


Oh my.

[Bunty]

http://www.koco.com/news/Medford-city-officials-ask-for-permanent-earthquake-solution-from-state/37634322

[Bunty]

It's scary to hear what the gentleman in the video says what he thinks will happen to Stillwater in the event of a 7.0 earthquake.  Oklahoma Republicans need to let go of being only on the side of the oil companies.  After all, the earthquakes subsided after Arkansas shut down its injection wells and started dumping the waste water to Oklahoma.

Video here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jcFaHFtuXQ

http://www.desmogblog.com/2016/01/26/arkansas-frackquake-victims-commiserate-oklahomans-fracking-wastewater-injection-continues-risking-deadly-earthquakes

[Yfory]

Bunty,

Your comments will help but I am afraid it will take a M 5.0 or even a M 6.0 to get the states bureaucrat's attention.

There is a huge issue now in effect in Oklahoma and possibly neighboring states and that is house damage. I realize human life is the first and primary consideration but just consider the house damage issue as a part of the story.

Once a house has been damaged by an earthquake it will eventually be required to be a real estate disclosure item in the sale of the house. Disclosing that a house is in an earthquake zone and has been damaged by an earthquake the disclosure will reduce resale values of most homes in the zone. What is even worse and not yet discussed, that I have seen, is what we call in California "earth quake insurance". The insurance pool to statistically pay for serious house damage in high numbers, and still "break even" for the insurer, does not exist even in California - and we have 30 million people here. What this leads to is an unbelievable deductible. Here in California the deductible is typically $40,000 and usually higher - the owner pays the first $40,000 of the home damage costs and the insurance pays the rest.

Even putting aside human life issues, which is a crazy thing to say but part of this discussion, the costs to home owners is just starting to occur to people in your area. In a odd way, sometimes people are more upset about personal expenses than "abstract" human injury in modest quakes meaning quakes in the M 5.0 to M 6.5 range.

If you are hit by a M 7.0 or higher the costs in human life and property will be more than anyone can imagine except cheap sci-fi movie makers. I truly hope you never see anything over M 5.0 - ever!

Talking about these issues is better done now than after a 6.0.