09-05-2016, 09:59 PM
Eologists say the area around Pawnee City is experiencing quakes on a daily basis because of oil drilling.
One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in Oklahoma rattled the area northwest of Pawnee City Saturday, which could be caused by the seismic activity linked to the oil drilling technique known as fracking.
The magnitude 5.6 quake, which was felt from South Dakota to Texas, prompted the closure of some 35 wastewater disposal wells in the area, officials said.
The shallow quake struck 9 miles northwest of Pawnee City, named after the Native American nation, in central Oklahoma in the early hours of the morning local time. The 5.6 magnitude matched a 2011 earthquake for the biggest on record in the state, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
"You heard it before it happened," Pawnee resident Jasha Lyons Echo-Hawk told Reuters. "Watching my drawers all shake out and my headboard rattle, it felt like I was watching 'Paranormal Activity.' It felt like I was in a movie."
There were no immediate reports of injuries in the Pawnee area, where about 25 percent of the residents are Native Americans. Damage in the town appeared to be minor, although the Pawnee Nation declared a state of emergency for its area.
The earthquake, which was just 4.1 miles deep, fuels concerns about the environmental impact of fracking, which has been blamed for a massive spike in minor to moderate quakes in the region.
Oklahoma has been recording two and a half earthquakes daily of magnitude 3 or greater, a seismicity rate 600 times greater than before 2008, the Oklahoma Geological Survey said.
Oklahoma geologists have documented links between increased seismic activity in the state and the injection into the ground of wastewater from oil and gas production, according to a report by the Oklahoma Geological Survey last year.
Pawnee City Mayor Brad Sewell said the tremor lasted nearly a minute, far longer than previous ones that lasted only a second or two.
A report by the Environment America released in April said that fracking wells in the U.S. produced an estimated 280 billion gallons of toxic wastewater in 2012, which “often contains cancer-causing and even radioactive materials, and has contaminated drinking water sources from Pennsylvania to New Mexico.”
The report added that more than 2 billion gallons of chemicals used in thousands of fracking sites around the U.S. had the potential to cause cancer and are capable of infiltrating drinking water sources from leaks and spills.
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Fr...-0024.html
One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in Oklahoma rattled the area northwest of Pawnee City Saturday, which could be caused by the seismic activity linked to the oil drilling technique known as fracking.
The magnitude 5.6 quake, which was felt from South Dakota to Texas, prompted the closure of some 35 wastewater disposal wells in the area, officials said.
The shallow quake struck 9 miles northwest of Pawnee City, named after the Native American nation, in central Oklahoma in the early hours of the morning local time. The 5.6 magnitude matched a 2011 earthquake for the biggest on record in the state, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
"You heard it before it happened," Pawnee resident Jasha Lyons Echo-Hawk told Reuters. "Watching my drawers all shake out and my headboard rattle, it felt like I was watching 'Paranormal Activity.' It felt like I was in a movie."
There were no immediate reports of injuries in the Pawnee area, where about 25 percent of the residents are Native Americans. Damage in the town appeared to be minor, although the Pawnee Nation declared a state of emergency for its area.
The earthquake, which was just 4.1 miles deep, fuels concerns about the environmental impact of fracking, which has been blamed for a massive spike in minor to moderate quakes in the region.
Oklahoma has been recording two and a half earthquakes daily of magnitude 3 or greater, a seismicity rate 600 times greater than before 2008, the Oklahoma Geological Survey said.
Oklahoma geologists have documented links between increased seismic activity in the state and the injection into the ground of wastewater from oil and gas production, according to a report by the Oklahoma Geological Survey last year.
Pawnee City Mayor Brad Sewell said the tremor lasted nearly a minute, far longer than previous ones that lasted only a second or two.
A report by the Environment America released in April said that fracking wells in the U.S. produced an estimated 280 billion gallons of toxic wastewater in 2012, which “often contains cancer-causing and even radioactive materials, and has contaminated drinking water sources from Pennsylvania to New Mexico.”
The report added that more than 2 billion gallons of chemicals used in thousands of fracking sites around the U.S. had the potential to cause cancer and are capable of infiltrating drinking water sources from leaks and spills.
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Fr...-0024.html