5.0 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Oklahoma

An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.0 struck at 8:44 PM (EST) in central Oklahoma on Sunday evening. The epicenter was located two miles west of Cushing as reported by the U.S. Geological Survey. Tremors were felt as far away as Arkansas, Little Rock, Missouri, and Kansas City. Residents in Texas, Illinois, and Iowa too felt the earth shaking.

KOCO, sister station of 40/29, stated that the earthquake was the fifth largest in the history of Oklahoma. Initially measured as a 5.3 quake, USGS seismologists considered the tremor to be slightly weaker after further analysis. The oil and gas wing of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission said that they are in touch with pipeline operators; however, there were no immediate reports of casualties or damages to the pipelines so far. According to authorities in Cushing, the downtown region is being evacuated because of infrastructure inspection and gas leaks.

An assisted living facility had to be evacuated because of the damage, which was mainly concentrated in the downtown region. People posted pictures of the Oklahoma quake on Twitter, and some of them showed broken concrete that fell from buildings in Cushing. There were also images of products being scattered in the aisles of stores after they were shaken from the shelves. Cushing High School did not hold classes on Monday to evaluate the damage, according to their Facebook page.

Two months back, an earthquake of magnitude 5.6 was recorded in Oklahoma, and it was believed to be the strongest in the entire history of the city. Earthquakes occur naturally, but researchers have linked smaller tremors to gas and oil work carried underground since this changes pressure points and leads to shifts in the earth. The Oklahoma Geological Survey released a report last year that linked the frequent earthquakes to the practice of injecting wastewater into the ground from production of oil.