A swarm of more than 70 small earthquakes has rattled Oklahoma in the
past week, raising concerns that the state’s quake problem is getting
worse.
The largest quake measured magnitude-4.8 and struck around midnight Wednesday near the town of Fairview. No significant damage has been reported, although it shook pictures and crockery.
“It
was felt all over the county, pretty much all over the state,” Major
County Undersherrif Darin Reams said. "This one rattled a little bit.”
Smaller quakes continued Thursday.
Oklahoma in 2014 had at least 5,415 earthquakes; 585 of them were
magnitude-3 or greater. In comparison, the state had just 109
magnitude-3 quakes in 2013, according to the Oklahoma Geologic Survey.
Statistics for 2015 are still being compiled.
A state report last
year noted a connection between hydraulic fracturing and some earthquake
"swarms," and state officials say there's a potential risk to the
public due to the increase in quakes. Experts say the quakes are likely
being caused by injection wells, which are particularly deep wells into
which drilling byproducts and wastewater are injected, rather than wells
drilled to extract oil or gas.
Read the full report here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/01/07/small-earthquakes-shaking-oklahoma-blamed-deep-injection-wells/78421444/
Of course, it could never happen in the UK ( or France ) - could it? Ed.
No comments:
Post a Comment