Earthquake Shakes Oklahoma, Kansas
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck northern Oklahoma early on Thursday, rattling residents out of their beds and shaking the ground across a 100-mile (160-km) radius that included the city of Tulsa and the state of Kansas.
The U.S. Geological Survey said the 1:42 a.m. CST (0742 GMT) quake’s epicenter was 8 miles (13 km) southwest of Cherokee, Oklahoma.
With a shallow depth of 3.8 miles (6.2 km), it was one of the most-powerful temblors to shake Oklahoma since the strongest one recorded there struck in 2011 with a 5.6 magnitude.
There were no reports of any major damage or injuries, a Cherokee city hall official said. A local emergency management official said bridges did not appear to be damaged in areas around the quake’s epicenter.
Still, state’s oil and gas regulator, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC), moved within hours on Thursday to implement additional curbs on the use of saltwater disposal wells that scientists have linked to a sharp rise in seismic activity in the state. (Read more from “Earthquake Shakes Oklahoma, Kansas” HERE)
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