Earthquake of 5.1 Magnitude Jolts Oklahoma City

Oklahoma City – An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 struck Oklahoma City on Friday evening leaving many residents in disarray. According to the data released by the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake jolted the city at around 11:30 pm (local time) and the epicentre of the tremours was near the town of Prague in central Oklahoma. Several residents living in the region told Fox News that they heard cracking walls and even a loud boom. The earthquake came weeks after a series of earthquakes rattled West Arcadia. 

Within the American state, the tremours were felt in Shawnee, Stillwater and Tecumseh as well. In the past, the USGS has mentioned that many quakes that are striking the southern Plains of the country have been tied to human activities. The agency noted that the process of fracking i.e. the process of injecting water, sand or chemicals into the ground in order to break up the bedrock to reach oil and gas reserves has the potential to trigger quakes and even impact the groundwater of the region. However, it is too early to determine, if human activities were the major reason that the city witnessed the tremours on Friday. 

Can human activities cause Earthquakes? 

The simple answer to the aforementioned question is that, yes, even humans can cause earthquakes. According to the USGS, the Central United States has witnessed a dramatic increase in seismicity over the past 6 years. In 2017, A study was published in the journal Seismological Research Letter that identified that around 730 sites were affected by earthquakes caused by human activities. The number of sites has increased over the years. While the effects of human-induced earthquakes may be similar to those created by nature, they are often recorded at the region which usually has low seismic activity. 

Exactly what causes a man-made earthquake depends on the type of human activity. According to inducedearthquakes.org mining accounts for the highest number of human-induced earthquakes worldwide. In 2008, thousands of people died or went missing after a 7.9-magnitude earthquake rocked  Sichuan province in China. Experts believe that the quake was triggered by the weight of 320 million tons of water that had been collected in the Zipingpu Reservoir—over a well-known fault line. Fracking for oil and natural gas is also known for inducing earthquakes.