Tag Archives: Oklahoma

Wildfires Burning in Oklahoma, Kansas

An aerial photo of the "350 Complex" fire that has hit an area of about 55,000 acres (22,250 hectares) located about 130 miles (210 km) northwest of Oklahoma City i

Reuters) – Wildfires in Oklahoma and Kansas this week have burned thousands of acres, scorched numerous structures and prompted hundreds of people to evacuate their homes, officials said on Wednesday.

The largest fire was the “350 Complex” fire, about 130 miles (210 km) northwest of Oklahoma City, that has hit an area of about 55,000 acres (22,250 hectares) and is mostly uncontained, Oklahoma Forestry Services said.

The fire has burned numerous structures. The state has deployed about 115 personnel and several firefighting aircraft to extinguish the blaze, the service said, adding that other areas of the state were also at risk.

“As fire weather conditions deteriorate, with dry and extremely gusty winds, new fires have started in multiple counties across Oklahoma,” it said.

There have been multiple wildfires in Kansas, which borders Oklahoma to the north, with the largest in Geary County, about 60 miles (100 km) west of Topeka.

A fire that burned about 500 acres (200 hectares) in Riley County, about 30 miles (50 km) north of Geary, has been contained, the Kansas Forest Service said.

No major injuries have been reported in either state.

(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas; Additional reporting by Heide Brandes; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and James Dalgleish)

Flash flood watches issued in four Southern states ahead of thunderstorms

Portions of four Southern states are bracing for the possibility of flash flooding later this week.

The National Weather Service on Monday issued flash flood watches for parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana ahead of a series of thunderstorms that is expected to bring anywhere between three and 10 inches of rain to those regions between Tuesday and Thursday.

The flash flood watch states the heaviest rains are expected in eastern Texas, western Louisiana and southwestern Arkansas, increasing the risk of flash flooding in those communities.

The storms are expected to bring lighter precipitation totals across the Great Plains, South and Midwest over the next three days, and National Weather Service forecasts indicate that some parts of Missouri, Illinois and Mississippi could all receive three or more inches of rain.

Residents of all of the affected states are encouraged to monitor their local forecasts.

The service also said there is a slight chance of severe thunderstorms across the Southern Plains tonight, but had yet to issue any watches or warnings for those storms as of 1 p.m. Central time.

The flash flood watches come after California was hit with heavy rains over the weekend.

The National Weather Service’s unofficial totals show more than 10 inches of rain fell in parts of Monterey, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties between Friday morning and Monday morning.

The weekend storms also brought more than two feet of snow and wind gusts that topped 60 mph to some mountainous areas, the service said, including an 88-mph gust near Mount Diablo.

Those topped trees and power lines, knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses.

Utility company PG&E said reported more than 265,000 of its customers in the Bay Area lost power during the storm, though all but 8,700 had their service restored as of Sunday morning.

Radar showed some California communities were receiving additional rain and snow Monday, and the National Weather Service warned that some areas could see another 10 inches of snow.

Oklahoma hit by more than 400 earthquakes in first two months of 2016

Oklahoma was shaken by more than 400 earthquakes in the first two months of 2016, the latest in a state that has experienced a marked increase in seismic activity in recent years.

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) data shows the Sooner State experienced about 430 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or greater in January and February, an average of more than seven per day.

About 240 quakes of that magnitude occurred elsewhere in the continental United States during the same time frame, according to a searchable earthquake archive on the USGS website.

Magnitude 2.5 is the minimum strength reported on the USGS’s earthquake tracker.

Oklahoma rarely experienced earthquakes of that size before 2009, when the state’s seismic activity began to surge. USGS data shows the state was hit by about nine earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or greater in 2008, and that number rose to more than 2,700 last year.

The uptick has been linked to wastewater produced by the oil and gas industries, and state officials have taken steps to limit the amount of wastewater that can be disposed in wells.

Both the USGS and Oklahoma Geological Survey have issued warnings about the increase in earthquakes of magnitude 3.0 or greater, saying the rise in quakes of that size increases the odds that Oklahoma will experience a larger, potentially more damaging earthquake in the future.

USGS data shows Oklahoma felt about 169 quakes of that size in January and February. The rate, an average of more than two per day, places it on pace to break the 2015 total of about 900.

The agency has said that Oklahoma’s average was about two per year between 1978 and 2008.

This year’s events include a magnitude 5.1 earthquake that occurred on Feb. 13 near Fairview. That is the state’s third-largest quake on record, according to the Oklahoma Geological Survey.

Three days later, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission announced it was implementing its biggest plan to reduce wastewater disposal yet, affecting 245 disposal wells across more than 5,200 square miles. Researchers recommended the plan should be implemented gradually over the next two months to avoid sudden pressure changes, the commission said in a news release.

In late January, Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin announced that $1.4 million would be withdrawn from the state’s emergency fund and given to earthquake researchers and regulators.

Oklahoma announces response after magnitude 5.1 earthquake rattles state

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) – Oklahoma’s oil and gas regulator released a wide-ranging plan on Tuesday to scale back use of wastewater injection wells in western Oklahoma, just days after a 5.1 magnitude quake rocked the state.

Seven counties are affected by the plan, which is the largest push yet in western Oklahoma to curb seismic activity linked to wells to dispose of saltwater, a natural byproduct of oil and gas work.

Saltwater disposal needs have grown in tandem with the growth in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in recent years.

The plan by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission includes a voluntary order that covers 245 disposal wells over a 5,200-square mile area. More than 40 percent of injected volumes will be cut back.

Tim Baker, director of the commission’s Oil and Gas Conservation Division, said the directive had been in the works since October due to a need for a larger, regional response. The counties covered include some that have not yet experienced an increase in earthquakes.

“This plan is aimed not only at taking further action in response to past activity, but also to get out ahead of it and hopefully prevent new areas from being involved,” Baker said in a statement.

The plan will be phased in over four stages in the next two months, as sudden stoppages could actually create more seismic events, Baker said.

The disposal wells into the Arbuckle formation are operated by 36 companies, including Sandridge and Chesapeake Energy.

Oklahoma was struck by a magnitude 5.1 earthquake on Saturday morning, the third-strongest quake ever recorded in the state, which has experienced a surge in seismic activity in recent years, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

Concerns about the increase in earthquakes in Oklahoma led to Governor Mary Fallin to use $1.4 million from the state’s emergency fund for earthquake research.

Baker said that money, as well as a grant from the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board and the Groundwater Protection Council, will help fund additional equipment and staff at the Corporation Commission.

Oklahoma, which has been shutting in some wastewater wells since August, has about 3,500 disposal wells.

(Reporting By Heide Brandes; Editing by Terry Wade and Sandra Maler)

Magnitude 5.1 earthquake hits Oklahoma, state’s third-strongest on record

Oklahoma was hit by one of the strongest earthquakes in the state’s history over the weekend.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) said the magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck just after 11 a.m. on Saturday, and it was centered about 21 miles northwest of Fairview. According to the Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS), it was the third-strongest quake ever recorded in the state.

Residents reported feeling strong-to-very-strong shaking near the quake’s center, according to user-submitted data on the USGS website. The agency says such shaking is capable of causing light or moderate damage, but there weren’t any such reports from Saturday’s earthquake.

Cities hundreds of miles away from Fairview experienced lighter shaking.

They included Oklahoma City (100 miles southeast), Fayetteville, Arkansas, (256 miles east), Dallas-Fort Worth (275 miles south) and Kansas City (300 miles northeast), the USGS said.

Five smaller earthquakes followed within 65 minutes of the initial quake, according to the USGS. Those other quakes ranged in magnitude from 2.5 to 3.9.

Oklahoma has seen a significant rise in seismic activity since 2009, and officials have linked the rise to wastewater from oil and gas production. Regulators have taken steps to limit its disposal.

However, the USGS says more than 300 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or greater have occurred in Oklahoma in the first 46 days of 2016. That includes eight earthquakes above magnitude 4.0.

Oklahoma only saw 21 magnitude-4.0-or-greater quakes in a 64-month stretch from January 2009 to May 2014, the USGS said in a news release at the time. That includes a magnitude 5.6 earthquake that occurred in November 2011 near Prague, the strongest in the state’s history.

Oklahoma’s second-strongest earthquake was a magnitude 5.5 quake that occurred in April 1952 near El Reno, according to the OGS. The state hasn’t witnessed any other magnitude 5.0 quakes.

However, the USGS and OGS have both warned the recent rise in Oklahoma’s earthquake activity increases the risk that the state could be hit by an even bigger quake in the future.

Last month, Fairview was hit by 20 earthquakes in a span of about nine hours, including two just 30 seconds apart. Those nearly back-to-back earthquakes were initially reported to be

Quakes in Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas rise as global averages remain constant

The central United States saw a rise in seismic activity last year, seismologists said Monday.

Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas combined to witness 32 earthquakes of at least magnitude 4.0 in 2015, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said in a news release announcing last year’s global earthquake totals, nearly doubling the 17 quakes of that size that hit those states in 2014.

The news will hardly surprise residents of Oklahoma, which has seen a dramatic rise in quake frequency and magnitude since 2009. Officials have linked the surge to wastewater from oil and gas companies operating in the state, and regulators have taken steps to reduce its production.

Globally, however, the USGS said last year’s quake totals were “on par with prior year averages.”

The world usually sees about 14,500 earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or greater and 18 earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or greater every year, according to the USGS. Last year, those totals were 14,588 and 19, respectively, though the numbers may change pending a final review.

While earthquake totals might not have increased, the USGS reported they were far deadlier.

The organization said earthquakes killed 9,612 people last year, up from the 2014 total of 664.

Nearly 9,200 of them were killed in magnitude 7.8 and 7.3 earthquakes that hit Nepal in April and May, the USGS said. The first and more powerful quake on April 25 killed 8,964 people, and 218 died in the May 12 quake. Another 430 died in quakes in Afghanistan, Malaysia and Chile.

While Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas saw some powerful earthquakes, they didn’t see the most powerful one to hit the United States last year. A magnitude 6.9 earthquake off the coast of Alaska’s remote Unmak Island in July holds that distinction, according to the USGS.

However, Oklahoma’s trend of increased activity appears to be carrying over into the New Year.

The state has already seen seven earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or greater in 2016, USGS data indicates. This year’s quakes include a Jan. 6 magnitude 4.8 earthquake near Fairview that is one of the strongest in the state’s history, according to Oklahoma Geological Survey records.

Oklahoma experienced just 21 earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 or greater in a 64-month stretch from January 2009 to May 2014, the USGS said in a news release at the time. That included a magnitude 5.6 quake that hit near Prague in November 2011, the state’s strongest on record.

Both the USGS and Oklahoma Geological Survey have cautioned the rise in Oklahoma’s earthquake activity increases the risk that the state could see an even bigger quake.

Oklahoma isn’t the only state where earthquakes pose a risk to the public.

The USGS reported last August that about 143 million people in the continental United States live in areas where they could be exposed to potentially damaging earthquake tremors. That was nearly double its previous estimate of 75 million people, published in 2006. The organization said the rise was the result of population shifts and a better understanding of seismic activity.

California, Washington, Utah, Tennessee, Oregon, South Carolina, Nevada, Arkansas, Missouri and Illinois are the states with the most people exposed to potentially damaging shaking, the USGS said.

Oklahoma city shaken by 20 earthquakes in 9 hours

A small city in Oklahoma was hit by 20 earthquakes in nine hours overnight, including a pair of particularly strong ones just 30 seconds apart, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) said.

The earthquakes occurred between 10:27 p.m. and 7:40 a.m. and were centered just northwest of Fairview, a city of about 2,600 people that sits about 100 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.

The swarm began with magnitude 4.7 and magnitude 4.8 earthquakes 30 seconds apart. The second quake was the strongest in the state since November 2011, according to the Oklahoma Geological Survey, and only three stronger earthquakes have occurred in Oklahoma since 1882.

The 18 quakes that followed ranged in magnitude from 2.5 to 4.0, USGS data indicates.

The strongest earthquake could be felt more than 100 miles away in other parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas, according to user-submitted reports published on the USGS website. There was no indication that any of the 20 earthquakes caused any significant damage or injuries.

Last April, the Oklahoma Geological Survey issued a statement saying the state’s seismicity rate was 600 times greater than it was before 2008. Wastewater from the oil and gas companies that operate in the state has been linked to the rise, and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission has taken steps to limit the amount of wastewater in an attempt to reduce the overall risk of quakes.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission on Monday announced additional steps it would take to limit such waste near Edmond, which had felt two sizeable earthquakes in recent days — a magnitude 4.3 earthquake on Dec. 29 and a magnitude 4.2 earthquake on New Year’s Day.

But USGS data indicated three smaller earthquakes occurred near Edmond between 7:20 p.m. Wednesday and 12:42 a.m. Thursday. The tremors ranged in magnitude from 2.5 to 3.2.

Edmond, one of Oklahoma’s largest cities, is located 15 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.

The Oklahoma Geological Survey and USGS have both warned the increase in large earthquakes — those greater than magnitude 3.0 — puts Oklahoma more at risk for even bigger earthquakes.

Earthquakes Cause Minor Damage, Knock Out Power in Oklahoma

Early-morning earthquakes caused some damage in one Oklahoma community on Tuesday.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a magnitude 4.3 earthquake occurred at 5:39 a.m. local time about five miles outside of Edmond, Oklahoma, one of the state’s most populous cities. A magnitude 3.4 aftershock followed nearby exactly 10 minutes later.

Edmond is located about 15 miles northeast of Oklahoma City.

The earthquakes caused about 4,400 customers in Edmond to lose power, officials wrote on the city’s Twitter page. However, crews restored service to every customer within about 90 minutes.

One Edmond resident shared a picture on Twitter showing a broken mirror inside a bathroom, though there weren’t published reports indicating the quake caused severe damage or injuries.

Another magnitude 2.9 earthquake shook the ground 17 miles outside of Fairview, Oklahoma, at 6:48 a.m., according to the USGS. Fairview is roughly 100 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.

The three earthquakes were the latest to hit the state of Oklahoma, which has seen a dramatic rise in seismic activity since 2009, according to the USGS. Wastewater from the oil and gas companies who operate in the state have been linked to the uptick, and officials at the regulatory Oklahoma Corporation Commission have implemented steps to reduce wastewater production.

However, the earthquakes continue.

USGS data indicates Oklahoma has experienced about 123 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or greater in the past 30 days. That includes dozens of quakes of at least magnitude 3.0. Before 2009, the USGS says the state traditionally only saw one to three magnitude 3.0 quakes a year.

Tuesday’s earthquakes came at a time when Oklahoma was still reeling from a powerful storm that brought ice, snow and flooding to the state, which the state Department of Health said led to at least 50 people suffering injuries. The entire state remains under a state of emergency, and the National Weather Service issued flood and flash flood warnings across eastern Oklahoma.

Close to 200,000 customers across Oklahoma lacked power on Monday afternoon, Governor Mary Fallin’s office said in a news release announcing the state of emergency. However, utility companies said their crews were busy restoring power to those who had been left in the dark.

The Public Service Company of Oklahoma reported about 17,000 customers were without power on Tuesday morning. Another utility company, OG&E, reported it had restored service to about 60,000 of its customers, though about 19,000 were experiencing outages. The Oklahoma Electric Cooperative reported approximately 54,000 people near Oklahoma City lacked power.

Four earthquakes strike Oklahoma, including another 4.7

Four more earthquakes struck Oklahoma on Monday, including one of magnitude 4.7.

That’s according to the United States Geological Survey’s earthquake data.

The magnitude 4.7 earthquake came at 3:49 a.m. Central Time, the USGS said. It was about five kilometers below the earth’s surface and was centered near Medford, close to the Kansas border.

The Associated Press said there were no immediate accounts of damage, but KWTV News 9 reported the quake was felt across Oklahoma and it shook some of the state’s residents awake.

The Tulsa World reported this morning’s earthquake tied for the largest one in the state since 2011. It was matched only by a magnitude 4.7 earthquake located near Cherokee on Nov. 19.

A trio of smaller earthquakes followed.

A magnitude 3.0 quake occurred at 5:50 a.m. near Edmond, according to the USGS. An hour later, there were magnitude 3.1 and 2.7 earthquakes within 40 minutes of each other near Perry.

More than 5,000 earthquakes have already been recorded in Oklahoma this year, according to NPR. The oil and gas industries in Oklahoma produce a lot of wastewater, which the USGS has linked to the rise in earthquakes. State officials have introduced measures to limit wastewater.

Oklahoma is a key component of the energy scene in the United States.

It houses what an NPR report called North America’s largest commercial crude oil storage center, holding approximately 54 million barrels of oil in tanks the size of airplane hangars.

The facility is located in Cushing. While an official told NPR that the Oklahoma quakes have not caused any issues yet, the tanks weren’t constructed with any kind of major earthquake in mind.

That’s because the swarm in earthquakes is a recent phenomenon.

The number of earthquakes began to trend upward in 2009, and a USGS report found a 50 percent increase in the state’s earthquake rate from October 2013 to its May 2014 publication.

The report also said that raised the odds that a magnitude 5.5 quake would hit Oklahoma. A magnitude 5.6 quake hit Prague in November 2011, which is the state’s biggest quake on record.

A USGS research geophysicist told NPR he’s spoken to the Department of Homeland Security about the Cushing oil tanks. NPR also reported that officials fear that any earthquake damage to the Cushing facility could have significant implications in the United States energy market.

Scientists worry that 5.5-magnitude quake could strike Oklahoma

Four earthquakes hit Oklahoma on Monday, including one of magnitude 4.4, and geologists believe that an even bigger one could be coming.

The United States Geological Survey notes the chance for a magnitude 5.5 quake has risen significantly, given the rise in the state’s seismic activity.

KFOR notes that more than 5,000 earthquakes have been recorded in Oklahoma this year, and a May 2014 report from the USGS noted a nearly 50 percent increase in the state’s earthquakes since October 2013.

The USGS report included a statistical analysis of Oklahoma’s earthquake rates and found the increase did not appear to be a part of the typical fluctuations found in nature. The analysis found that one of the likely contributing factors to the increase in wastewater being injected into geologic formations deep underground. Such induction-induced seismicity, as the USGS refers to it, has also been documented in Arkansas, Ohio and Texas.

Oklahoma has a magnitude 5.6 earthquake on record. It occurred near Prague, which is about 70 miles east of Oklahoma City, in 2011 and damaged homes and buildings, according to media reports. The USGS report noted that before that the Prague quake, the previous highest earthquake in the state’s history was a magnitude 5.5 quake in 1952.

In August, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission implemented a plan to reduce wastewater disposal in some parts of the state where seismic activity had risen sharply in an effort to mitigate the quake impacts.

Still, there have been 153 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or greater in Oklahoma in the past 30 days alone, according to the USGS. 

The magnitude 4.4 quake that hit Monday was located near Cherokee, some 140 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. NewsOK reported it was located only a few miles from a 4.7 earthquake that hit last Thursday and was the state’s highest recorded seismic activity since 2011.