Earthquake Rattles Prague, Oklahoma, Site of Past 5.7 Temblor

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The U.S. Geological Survey has reported a magnitude 3.8 earthquake in Oklahoma near Prague, where a magnitude 5.7 quake struck eight years ago.

Prague City Manager Jim Greff says there are no reports of injury or damage from the quake recorded at 6:12 a.m. on Dec. 1 about 43 miles (70 kilometers) east of Oklahoma City. The quake was reportedly felt 91 miles (150 kilometers) away in Bartlesville.

Geologists say damage is not likely in quakes below magnitude 4.0.

Greff said the quake “brings back memories” of the November 2011 quake, the strongest in recorded state history until a magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck near Pawnee in 2016.

The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals in mid-November upheld the class action designation of a lawsuit against an oil company over damage caused by earthquakes near Prague in November 2011, including one of magnitude 5.7.

Many of the thousands of earthquakes in Oklahoma in recent years have been linked to underground injection of wastewater from oil and natural gas production.

Seven small earthquakes also rattled Kansas recently, with all but one of them clustered near Wichita.

The Kansas Geological Survey reports that six of the temblors were centered in southwest Sedgwick County. They ranged in magnitude from 2 to 3.1.

A seventh earthquake with a magnitude of 2.9 was reported in Rooks County in the north-central part of the state. The threshold for damage usually starts at 4.0.

The Wichita Eagle reports that the earthquakes hit as the Kansas Corporation Commission is investigating the cause of a swarm of 17 earthquakes in five days in the same area of central Kansas in August. The regulatory agency’s investigation is focused on the underground disposal of oilfield waste that has been blamed for quakes elsewhere in southern Kansas.