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An earthquake of 5.0 magnitude occurred on Sunday, 6 November near the Oklahoma town of Cushing. "[T]he largest crude oil storage facility in the world" lies near the town; a U.S. Geological Survey report published in 2015 had warned of the potential for damaging earthquakes near Cushing. Oklahoma and Kansas have been experiencing numerous earthquakes, mostly minor, since 2009. Figures from ABC News show an increasing frequency of earthquakes:
The USGS recorded 1,010 earthquakes of a magnitude 3.0 or greater in the region last year, nearly three times as many as the 318 temblors of this magnitude in 2009. Oklahoma alone felt 619 quakes of a magnitude 2.8 or larger from January through June of this year.
The strongest recorded in Oklahoma, of magnitude 5.8, happened on 3 September. Underground disposal of waste water from the oil and gas industry is believed to be a cause of the seismicity; there is also speculation that hydrofracturing is a factor.
There were minor injuries and several buildings were damaged; no damage to the area's pipelines has been reported. Schools in the area are to be closed Monday, so they may be checked for damage.
coverage:
- CBS News
- Reuters via KELO
- WFAA-TV
- NBC News
- ABC News
- Chicago Tribune
- CNBC
- UPI
- Kevin Stump (photo of damage to a building's façade)
- Jacob DeFlitch (photo of damage to the back of a building)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 08 2016, @10:38PM
For lo, shall the land be torn asunder as the horsemen ride. Until dawn shall they tremble, knowing the full wrath their wicked ways have brought forth will come to fruition. The skies will grow light, then burn with an orange intensity so bright none shall dare look upon it. Only the skies will be untouched, for all the heavenly spirits to reside as Judgment Day passes below. Those who remain shall have a purified heart, and turning to the sky they will yell, "Khaaaan!!"
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bob_super on Tuesday November 08 2016, @10:54PM
Guys, we said the the North would get the blizzards, tornadoes and the long winters, the South and South East would get the hurricanes, tornadoes and humidity, and we were really clear that all of these wouldn't matter because "at least we don't get earthquakes like the West coast". That's the way it work. English-style stiff upper lip, our weather sucks but you can trust the ground around here!
Now, I know that the plan got derailed by that giant fault in the upper midwest, but it is indeed as quiet as Madrid around siesta time. Who the hell fucked it all up by coming up with the stupid idea of manufacturing earthquakes in OK, of all places?
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday November 09 2016, @12:27AM
Who the hell fucked it all up by coming up with the stupid idea of manufacturing earthquakes in OK, of all places?
Who the hell fucked up human communication by giving me a place where I could post stuff? The oil industry is no more about generating earthquakes in Oklahoma than the internet is about khallow rants.
But unintended consequences happen. And we have to decide whether the consequence is worse than the activity. Here, I think that if the particular water disposal process were to go on indefinitely, 6+ magnitude earthquakes would happen at about 3% of the frequency of magnitude 5+ earthquakes (the frequency distribution of these particular earthquakes appears to be inversely proportional to the energy of the earthquakes and jumping an order of magnitude increases energy released by the earthquake by 10^1.5 which is roughly a factor of 30). I think the Oklahoma earthquakes are directly related to current activity. If they were to stop pumping waste fluid into the earth under pressure, I think the majority of earthquakes would stop.
Eyeballing this Wikipedia chart, I gather 5+ magnitude earthquakes have a frequency of roughly one 5+ magnitude earthquake every year under current activity. That would imply a 6+ magnitude quake every 30 years at current rates. It's worth noting that most of the current activity will be long over by then.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday November 09 2016, @12:30AM
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Tuesday November 08 2016, @11:16PM
The geologists have been, for years, saying "Hey, you can't just dump waste underground without there being problems. Keep up that hydraulic fracturing, and you'll cause earthquakes." And the companies and the politicians that work for them have responded with "Quit worrying, we'll be fine." and done exactly what they'd planned on doing anyways. And lo and behold, there earthquakes, exactly as the geologists predicted.
Not that I expect that to change anything, other than to give the geeks a brief moment of "I told you so!".
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 08 2016, @11:27PM
Pre-fracking there were no earthquakes in that area... right? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday November 08 2016, @11:43PM
Rocket theoreticians are never believed until the shit mixes with the O2 line.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by aristarchus on Wednesday November 09 2016, @06:55AM
Hmmm, Climate change denial, Fracking earthquakes denial; what do these two things have in common?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 09 2016, @02:48AM
Yeah, it is interesting seeing when topics pop up for the first time, you usually see more of the raw truth. Then the spin machines start working and months -> years later no one knows what to think for sure.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday November 09 2016, @01:37AM
I was thinking of submitting this, but you've done that and put more work into it than I would have.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 09 2016, @02:50AM
PWNDT'D FEMINISTS!
(Score: 2) by turgid on Thursday November 10 2016, @01:00PM
He's just testing the faith of His followers again, in case they're thinking of turning Muslim - or worse - atheist!
I refuse to engage in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent [wikipedia.org].