The USGS says it was a magnitude 5.6 earthquake that hit on Saturday night November 5, 2011. And now, aftershocks are already happening on this Sunday.
This snapshot is of a buckled road from KOCO 5 Television, one of the news stations in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City is about 45 miles west of the quake’s epicenter. We”ll learn more about any damage as we go through today.
Foreshocks Lead Up To Big Oklahoma 5.6 Earthquake
It’s rare, but sometimes smaller quakes are a sign of a bigger one to come. And this appears to be one of those cases, based on these foreshocks that occurred on Saturday November 5, 2011–in the same area as the main shock:
- 4.7 quake-2:12am
- 3.4 quake-2:27am
- 2.7 quake – 2:44am
- 5.6 quake-10:53pm Central Daylight Time – main shock
Geologists say it’s still unclear if foreshocks increase stress on faults — and lead to the main shock — or if it’s the faults way of adjusting before the main shock breaks loose. Maybe we’ll learn more from this event.
November Earthquake Is Largest Quake In Oklahoma State History
Oklahoma’s had it’s share of earthquakes over the years. The 5.1 magnitude quake near Norman, Oklahoma in October 2010 comes to mind. That was just a year ago! But this magnitude 5.6 quake appears to be the strongest in state history. It knocks off the previous record holder: Oklahoma’s 5.5 magnitude earthquake in El Reno, Oklahoma, to the west of Oklahoma City. That quake shook Oklahoma in 1952.
Big Oklahoma Quake Felt More Than 1,000 Miles Away
It’s amazing how an earthquake’s energy travels in waves through the earth. The USGS had reports of people feeling it from Dallas, Texas and Kansas City, Missouri. The Oklahoma quake was even felt by some in Chicago. Here’s the list of “I felt it reports” from the USGS Earthquake Hazard Page. Each line is a report from someone who felt the earthquake–their city is on the far right. It’s just crazy, isn’t it? And here’s a map that shows shaking intensity based on reports. The ‘star’ on this map is the quake epicenter.
Thanks to the folks at the USGS for the great job they do it getting us the latest earthquake information–and fast! Their Earthquake home page is right here.
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