Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes – Global

5.8 Earthquake hits Oklahoma, USA.

Oklahoma officials on Saturday ordered oil and gas operators to shut down three dozen wastewater disposal wells following a 5.8-magnitude earthquake that tied a record as the strongest in state history. Local officials reported moderate to severe damage and at least one non-life-threatening injury. A lot of rural houses north, northwest of Pawnee have seen extensive damage. Thousands of earthquakes have hit Oklahoma in recent years. Most have been imperceptible, but the number that can be felt — generally of magnitude 3.0 and higher — has risen significantly. Only three earthquakes of that size or stronger were recorded in 2009. Last year, the state had 907 such quakes. So far this year, there have been more than 400. Many seismologists say the quakes are caused by high-pressure injection of wastewater from oil and gas wells, both conventional and hydraulically fractured, or fracked. As wastewater under pressure migrates into rock formations, it alters stresses along old faults, allowing them to slip. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which oversees oil and gas activity, announced that it had ordered the shutdown of wastewater wells across about 500 square miles in the area hit by the quake. About three dozen wells are affected, and will have to shut down in as little as a week,

5.7 Earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.

5.1 Earthquake hits Easter Island.

5.1 Earthquake hits the southwest Indian ridge.

Two 5.1 Earthquakes hit off the east coast of North Island, New Zealand.

5.1 Earthquake hits Costa Rica.

5.1 Earthquake hits Fiji.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Mariana Islands.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Azu Islands off Japan.

5.0 Earthquake hits Mindanao in the Philippines.

5.0 Earthquake hits the Rat Islands in the Aleutian Islands.