5.6 Oklahoma quake felt across seven states
A 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck on Saturday morning near Pawnee, Oklahoma, rattling at least seven states across the U.S. heartland, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The earthquake was felt in Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, Nebraska, and Iowa, according to USGS geophysicists.
Despite the light damage from the sizable quake, the shakeup did set off anxious speculation on social media.
A recent report released by the USGS showed that people in parts of Texas and Oklahoma now face similar ground-shaking risks from human-induced activity, such as fluid injection or extraction, is creating a similar risk that people face from natural earthquakes in California.
The agency outlined the risk of these so-called "induced" earthquakes, noting that Oklahoma City and the surrounding region face a 5 to 12% chance of damage from an earthquake in 2016.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission, a regulatory agency that examines the state's fuel, oil, gas, public utilities and transportation industries, is "reviewing disposal wells in the vicinity of the earthquake near Pawnee," Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said via Twitter.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation is checking bridges for damage and structural engineers are assessing building safety according to Fallin.
The earthquake damaged at least one historic building in Pawnee, Oklahoma city officials told CNN.
"It's an old historical building about 100 years old. It's still standing but some of the outer layers of sandstone fell, it could be cosmetic damage, we don't know yet," said Brad Sewell, city of Pawnee mayor.
"A quake this size would shake for about 15 seconds and it was a shallow quake, about 7 kilometers (4.35 miles) deep," said Randy Baldwin, a USGS geophysicist.
There is no clear evidence of major damage from the earthquake, Pawnee, Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce manager Tom Briggs tells CNN.
With earthquakes in the central and eastern United States, "the ground is softer, so the seismic waves have a much farther travel distance then an earthquake in California or Nevada," said Robert Sanders, USGS geophysicist.
"We had some buildings, some of the older structures, delaminate. The fire department and electricians and police are going through the area," Briggs said.
No injuries have been reported.
This is the biggest quake to hit the state since the November 2011, said Keli Cain, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.
CNN's Jareen Imam and Vivian Kuo contributed to this report.
Kansas nuclear plant not damaged by quake
PAWNEE, Okla. (AP) - Staffers at the Wolf Creek nuclear power plant in southeast Kansas found no damage to the plant after an earthquake rattled a large swath of the Midwest.
Spokeswoman Jenny Hageman says Saturday's 5.6 magnitude earthquake centered in north-central Oklahoma did not shake the plant near Burlington, Kansas, enough to set off a seismic alarm but staff checked it as a precaution.
KVOE reports the plant was shut down Friday by a water leak. Hageman says the source of the leak in the reactor cooling system inside the plant's containment area has been identified and that there was never of threat of a radiation leak.
It's unclear when Wolf Creek will return to operation.
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10 a.m.
A Pawnee business owner says the 5.6 magnitude earthquake shook his house "like a rubber band" and knocked items off cabinets and broke glass.
Furniture store owner Lee Wills told The Associated Press he was awake when the quake struck at 7:02 a.m. Saturday and first thought it was a thunderstorm.
But then his home, which is about 2½ miles outside of town, started shaking.
Wills said buildings in the downtown area are cracked and sandstone facing on some buildings fell and described the scene as "a mess."
The quake was felt as far away as Nebraska.
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9:10 a.m.
The Pawnee County emergency management director says no injuries have been reported and no buildings have collapsed following a magnitude 5.6 earthquake that ties a 2011 temblor for the strongest in Oklahoma history.
Mark Randell said the Saturday morning quake did cause cracks and damages to city buildings, some of which date to the early 1900s.
The U.S. Geological Survey reports the quake struck at 7:02 a.m. about nine miles northwest of Pawnee, a town of about 2,200 about 70 miles northwest of Oklahoma City.
The U.S.G.S. also reports a 3.6 magnitude aftershock in the same area at 7:58 a.m.
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8:55 a.m.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin says that crews are checking bridges and structures for damage after the 5.6 magnitude earthquake, which ties a 2011 temblor for the biggest on record in the state.
Fallin tweeted Saturday morning that the Oklahoma Department of Transportation is checking bridges in the Pawnee area for damage. The quake was centered about 9 miles northwest of the town of about 2,200 people.
Fallin also tweeted that state officials want structural engineers to look at building safety in the wake of the quake, which the U.S. Geological Society happened at 7:02 a.m.
No major damage was immediately reported. The quake was felt as far away as Nebraska.
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7:20 a.m.
An earthquake has rattled a swath of the Great Plains, from Kansas City, Missouri, to central Oklahoma.
The United States Geological Survey didn't immediately post data on its website about the size of the earthquake or where it was centered.
People in Kansas City, Missouri, Fayetteville, Arkansas, and Norman, Oklahoma, all reported feeling the earthquake at about 7:05 a.m. Saturday.
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