Showing posts with label Earthquake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Earthquake. Show all posts

Record 5.6 magnitude earthquake shakes Oklahoma

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The Saturday night earthquake had a magnitude of 5.6, and its epicenter was four miles east of Sparks in Lincoln County, according to the Oklahoma Geological Survey. The quake hit at 10:53 p.m., and it was reportedly felt as far away as Illinois, Kansas, Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas.

Mary Reneau talks with her husband on the telephone while she looks at the floor of her dining room, now littered with broken china, glassware and other sentimental keepsakes that were damaged when tossed to the floor during an earthquake in the early morning hours of Saturday, Nov. 5. , 2011. Doors of her furniture flew open and drawers were edged slightly open during the quake. Mary and her husband, Joseph were awakened around 2:15 a.m. when their house shook and items began falling off the walls and form shelves and cabinets inside their two-story brick ranch-style home in rural Lincoln County, about six miles northwest of Prague. Austin Holland, a seismologist with the Oklahoma Geological Survey, placed the quake's epicenter within two to three miles of the Reneau home. The Reneaus have lived in their house for 25 years. Photo by Jim Beckel, The Oklahoman ORG XMIT: KOD

The largest earthquake ever recorded in the state of Oklahoma struck Saturday night, officials said.

The quake had a magnitude of 5.6, and its epicenter was four miles east of Sparks in Lincoln County, according to the Oklahoma Geological Survey. The quake hit at 10:53 p.m.

The quake was reportedly felt as far away as Illinois, Kansas, Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas.

“There’s a crack going from the closet to the ceiling. I’ve never seen that before. I was in my bedroom grabbing my phone and I happened to notice it,” Moore resident Todd McKinsey said.

McKinsey said he lives near NW 12 and Santa Fe Avenue.

“That’s drywall. It’s totally separated,” he said.

“Earthquake damage in Oklahoma, that’s an anomaly right there,” McKinsey said.

“The picture by the TV fell off the wall, and we jumped up because we thought somebody had hit the house,” Noeh Morales said.

“It was like a roaring noise. I’ve never one that bad over here,” he said.

Morales said he was asleep at his home near SW 69 and Pennsylvania Avenue in Oklahoma City.

“It woke me out of a dead sleep. I felt the whole house shaking. I jumped and ran outside to see what was going on,” he said.

The strongest earthquake previously reported was April 9, 1952, in El Reno, according to the geological survey. Its magnitude was 5.50.

Michelann Ooten, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, said no injuries were reported to emergency management officials and she had no reports of major damages.

The Lincoln County sheriff’s office said late Saturday that damage has been reported across the county, but officials still were responding to calls and were not sure of the extent of damage.

The Lincoln County emergency manager reported portions of U.S. 62 have buckled and the chimney on a two-story house collapsed near Prague. A boulder also rolled onto a roadway in the area, the emergency manager told The Tulsa World. Other buildings have been damaged, and further assessments will be made after daylight.

"It was a pretty ornery little earthquake," said Joey Wakefield, Lincoln County's emergency manager.

The Oklahoma City Fire Department reported no injuries or serious damage as of 11:15 p.m.

Prague rattled

Earlier Saturday, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake rattled central Oklahoma, causing damage to some homes and businesses in Prague.

“It was very loud,” Lincoln County resident Mary Reneau said. “The big grandfather clock we have stopped at 2:15 a.m. It was bad enough that it stopped that clock. That’s really something. My heart goes out to these people who go through these very big quakes. I couldn’t imagine what that is like.”

The U.S. Geological Survey said the initial quake was centered about six miles north of Prague at 2:12 a.m.

That quake was followed by a series of aftershocks. A 3.4 magnitude aftershock was felt moments later, followed by another 2.7 magnitude aftershock about five miles southeast of Sparks. Sparks is in Lincoln County.

Oklahoma Geological Survey seismologist Austin Holland said there have%been at least 40 aftershocks recorded since the initial event.

Holland spent Saturday installing several temporary seismic stations in and around Prague. He said the quake was the result of movement along the Seminole Uplift Structure.

“It’s a very complicated fault structure, but it is very prominent in its geological signature,” Holland said.

Holland said the fault has been active since early Feb. 10. He said Lincoln County, where the fault lies, can experience between 10 and 30 quakes per month.

The most intense motion from the quake could be felt in Prague. Holland said that’s no surprise since the epicenter was located near the town.

“You can think of it like throwing a rock in a pond,” he said. “The ripples radiate out from the center and decrease rapidly farther away from the epicenter.”

Reneau was told by Holland the epicenter was almost directly under their two-story brick home, which is about five miles northwest of downtown Prague. Reneau spent Saturday morning cleaning up broken dishes and glass in her kitchen. There also were some cracks in the home’s walls.

Making matters more interesting is the fact the Reneaus recently were informed by their insurance company that their earthquake insurance had been dropped.

She said the family had taken out the insurance several years ago.

Like most residents in town, the quake woke her up.

Elsewhere in town, most residents felt the quake and were certainly talking about it, said Brenda Rohling, who owns Cow Pokes Barbeque restaurant in Prague.

“It’s kind of wicked. I don’t know how to explain it,” she said. “We had one last February that everyone felt but nothing this intense. This was way beyond that. It was unique. People are talking about it.”

Chris Degraffenrid is a manager at the Boomerang Cafe in Prague. He said that building sustained some light damage.

“There are some cracks, some foundation movement but nothing major,” he said.

Degraffenrid said while he actually slept through the quake, “Some of my employees and some of my friends were awake when it happened. I’ve heard that some people have had some broken glass and mirrors, things like that, but nothing too severe.”

Checking for damage

Prague City Manager Jim Greff said authorities still are checking for damage. He said the cracks in the Boomerang Cafe building were easy to spot because that structure had been remodeled recently.

“We know those cracks weren’t there, but there are quite a few cracks in other buildings that we just don’t know how long they’ve been that way or if there are new cracks,” he said. “We’re asking anyone who thinks they may have had some damage to contact us.”

Greff said several books fell off a shelf at the library, along with a picture that fell from the wall.

“We could hear the dishes rattling in the kitchen,” he said. “A lot of people said they heard a boom. I got up after the first one and felt the first aftershock right under my feet.”

Heather Spicer, of Sapulpa, said the quake woke up her son and dog.

“At first I thought an airplane had crashed nearby,” she said.

“But now I believe it was an earthquakebecause the whole house just kept vibrating with what sounded like distant thunder outside.”

Edda Miner, of Norman, said, “Between 2 and 2:30 a.m., east Norman had an earthquake, small, but I could feel it, and the lamp over the table was swinging. Very weird feeling.”

Matt Hoover, of Perkins, was wrapping birthday presents at 2:20 a.m. when he felt the quake. He thought the experience, his first with a quake, was exciting.

“The whole house started to shake and a low rumble could be heard throughout the house,” he said. “It lasted about 20 seconds.”

Oklahoma earthquake photos

Aftermath of record Oklahoma earthquake

Earthquake List for Map Centered at 36°N, 97°W

Oklahoma Earthquake: Moderate Quake Rattles Nerves

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An earthquake that struck central Oklahoma on Wednesday was one of the strongest in the state's history, the Oklahoma Geological Survey reported.

One of the strongest earthquakes in state history startled Oklahomans Wednesday morning, rattling windows and nerves but causing no major damage or injuries.

The quake was centered eight miles southeast of Norman, south of Lake Thunderbird, near E Post Oak Road and 84th Avenue SE, Oklahoma Geological Survey research seismologist Austin Holland said. He estimated the magnitude of the 9:06 a.m. quake at 5.1 and called it a "small to moderate earthquake," while the U.S. Geological Survey put it at 4.3.

Although there were only two reported minor injuries in Oklahoma, people were caught off guard by a jolting earthquake in the land of tornadoes.

Readers of The Oklahoman reported the quake felt or sounded like "a 747 landing in the neighbors' yard," "a semi hit our house" or "my house had been hit by a trash truck." People from seven states reported to the U.S. Geological Survey that they felt the quake, including from as far away as Brentwood, Tenn.

"That sucker it rattled my whole house, it literally shook the whole thing," said Charles Parnell, who lives in east Norman near Lake Thunderbird. "The chandelier jumped up and down a little bit, but there was no damage. It just surprised the heck out of me."

said his agency's 5.1 estimate likely will be reduced.

"I'm certain that we'll probably come down in our magnitude measurement because the USGS's 4.3 is so much lower than our 5.1. We keep track of the USGS magnitudes in our catalogs so we can improve. It's always good to compare your work to the foremost experts in the field of earthquake measurement."

Phone lines flooded

On Wednesday, Emergency Medical Services Authority in Oklahoma City said dispatchers received numerous calls relating to the earthquake. Most callers were having anxiety and worry over the earthquake, spokeswoman Lara O'Leary said, but two patients fell and needed medical care and were taken to Oklahoma City hospitals.

Oklahoma City resident Kenneth Tankersley, 52, was one of them. He broke his left ankle when he fell from a ladder outside his house as the earthquake struck. He said he was trying to take down an antenna when the ground shook.

"I guess my ladder wasn't set very solid, and it just shook me off of it," Tankersley said by phone.

Randy Keller, director at the Oklahoma Geological Survey, said the quake "came in loud and strong on all of our seismic stations."

Norman police Capt. Tom Easley said there were no known reports of injuries or damage in the city, but residents flooded the 911 lines.

Rick Smith, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Service, Norman Forecast Office, was in his office at the National Weather Center in Norman.

"It was a rumble. It didn't last long, but there was a jolt at the end," Smith said.

At the University of Oklahoma, a section of glass in the ceiling at Dale Hall was shattered, though it remained in place, and there was no immediate confirmation it was caused by the earthquake.

In Purcell, about 12 miles south of Norman, the sensation was intense, said Erica Lippel, a spokeswoman for the Purcell Police Department.

"Everybody pretty much went out in the street," she said.

A bumpy 2010

There have been about 570 earthquakes in the state this year, many too small to be felt. A 4.1 magnitude quake was reported on Feb. 27 near Sparks along the Turner Turnpike northeast of Oklahoma City.

The cause of Wednesday's quake and other recent ones could result from a buried fault or even oil and gas drilling activity, said Estella Atekwana, professor of hydrogeology at Oklahoma State University. The exact cause wasn't determined.

A 5.5 magnitude earthquake on April 9, 1952, is the largest ever recorded in Oklahoma, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. That one at El Reno, Oklahoma City and Ponca City cost thousands of dollars.

Earthquakes that wouldn't be felt in places like California, where subsurface conditions are different, can be felt here, Randy Keller, the Oklahoma Geological Survey director said in 2009. The hard rock beneath the Sooner State is better at conducting the seismic waves.


Oklahoma Shaken by 4.4-magnitude Earthquake

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Originally published 05:03 p.m., February 27, 2010, updated 05:21 p.m., February 27, 2010

The U.S. Geological Survey has confirmed that an earthquake has affected the Norman area.

According to the USGS Web site, a 4.4-magnitude earthquake occured 44 miles East-Northeast of Oklahoma City.


The epicenter is located three miles from the town of Sparks, Okla., the USGS stated.

The earthquake began around 4:22, and effects of the quake were felt in Norman around 4:25.

Employees at the National Weather Center in Norman said they felt the quake, along with students posting "earthquake" on their Facebook pages.

"I was just watching TV, and the whole apartment shook," Deirdra Cook, multidisciplinary studies senior, said about her experience during the earthquake. "I wasn't sure what it was at first."

Cook lives in Traditions Square Apartments East in Norman.

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SPARKS, OK -- A 4.4 magnitude earthquake shook parts of Oklahoma Saturday afternoon, according to preliminary reports from the U.S. Geological Survey.

The epicenter of the quake was three miles ENE of Sparks and 22 miles NNE of Shawnee.

The News On 6 has had reports from a number of people who say they felt their homes shake and saw pictures rattling on the walls.

"It shook really bad. It almost felt like a bomb," said Samantha Cordell, who was at the Prague Community Center at the time of the quake. "It felt like something exploded outside the community center."

No serious damage has been reported.

This is the second earthquake to strike in the last two days.

Friday morning, a 3.1 magnitude earthquake hit a little closer to Oklahoma City.

The Oklahoma Geological Survey would like anyone who felt the quake to report it on their Web site.

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The earthquake hit about three miles east of Sparks about 4:22 p.m., the survey said. Sparks is between Chandler and Meeker.

A Lincoln County 911 dispatcher said no injuries and only minor property damage were reported.

"I was actually outside, and I felt our concrete slab move a little bit. They almost didn't feel it inside the building. It came through pretty quick," said John Woods, owner of Ladonna's Grill in Meeker.

"My daughter was at home about a block away. She said she heard it coming. She said she could actually hear a rumble coming, and then it moved east to west through the house. She said it was bouncing the house so hard that it felt like someone was knocking at the door," he said.

Woods said the quake was also felt at his mother's house in Shawnee.

"She said she thought the whole kitchen was going to come down," he said.

"I was just lying down taking a nap. My husband, we have an old tree in the back, he thought the tree had fallen in the house," said Tanya Roach of Shawnee.

Her kids — who were playing outside — were knocked of their feet by the temblor.

"It shook the house ... It sounded almost like there was a semi-truck or something pulling right next door to your house. That's what it felt like," she said.

"It was just so tremendous that it really scared me. Usually, in Sparks, like the ones they've had before, we never felt anything," Roach said.

People also reported feeling the temblor in Norman, Prague, Seminole, and as far as Tulsa.

Amie Gibson with the Oklahoma Geological Survey said the earthquake's magnitude may have registered higher on state equipment. Oklahoma Geological Survey data is not yet available.