Oklahoma’s boasted frac quake mitigation failing, badly! More homes damaged by two 4.2M quakes Sunday NE of Enid; Court coddling oil companies causing quakes, leaving people plaintiffs dangling

Damage reported after earthquakes in Oklahoma by News9, Mar 05, 2018

BRECKENRIDGE, Okla. (AP) – Damage is being reported after two 4.2-magnitude earthquakes rattled northern Oklahoma.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports the quakes hit Sunday evening near the town of Breckenridge, about 70 miles (113 kilometers) north of Oklahoma City.

Garfield County Emergency Management Director Mike Honigsberg says bricks were split or pulled from walls of homes and buildings, while cracks were reported in walls and ceilings. Smaller quakes were reported in the same area early Monday.

No injuries were reported.

The number of earthquakes in Oklahoma has spiked in recent years, with many linked to the underground injection of wastewater from oil and gas production. Regulators have directed several oil and gas producers to close or reduce the volume of injection wells. [The feeble mitigation is not stopping the quakes, just as experts warned, for years.]

Before 2009, Oklahoma averaged one magnitude 3.0 earthquake a year. The number jumped to 903 such earthquakes in 2015 before declining to 304 last year. [Emphasis added]

UPDATED: Two 4.2 earthquakes recorded Sunday NE of Enid; damage reported by Jessica Miller and Rob Collins, March 4, 2018, Enid News & Eagle 

Home damaged in Breckenridge area of Garfield County

ENID, Okla. — Two magnitude 4.2 earthquakes were recorded near Enid Sunday afternoon and evening, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The first quake, at 5:17 p.m., was centered 10 miles east-northeast of Enid, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was 1 mile deep.

A second magnitude 4.2 earthquake was recorded at 9:40 p.m. Sunday in the same area with a depth of 3 miles, according to the USGS.

Two more smaller quakes occurred Monday, according to USGS. The first was a magnitude 2.7 that struck at 12:35 a.m. about 9 miles northeast of Enid and 3.8 miles north-northwest of Breckinridge. It was 2.4 miles deep. The second was a magnitude 2.6 that struck at 6:16 a.m. about about 8.7 miles northeast of Enid and 2.9 miles north-northwest of Breckinridge. it was 3 miles deep

Damage reported

At least one home in Breckinridge had major brick separation from doors and windows following the first quake, Enid and Garfield County Emergency Management Director Mike Honigsberg said.

There were also structural issues with sheetrock cracking above doors and windows, and some stairstep cracking in some areas of brick, he said.

The home appeared to be safe enough to stay in, but a structural engineer will need to evaluate it, Honigsberg said. [Engineers are expensive.  Who pays?  The harmed homeowner]

“I haven’t had to deal with earthquake damage like this before,” he said, after he had been at the scene.

“This will be more of an insurance issue than anything else.”

[what if insurance doesn’t cover industry induced quake damages to homes? And if insurance does cover it, who pays the deductible and subsequent dramatically increased annual or monthly premiums?]

Jonah and Brandi Davidson, who just moved into the home two weeks ago, do have earthquake insurance.

Brandi Davidson was at home, in the kitchen, when the first earthquake suddenly struck.

“It sounded like an explosion,” she said.

Everything shook, and items fell off walls, Davidson said.

“I knew it was at our back door. I knew it was close. It rattled our feet on the ground,” she said.

It took some time to discover the damage to the home.

“I think we were in shock,” Davidson said.

The USGS shows the updated epicenter of the first earthquake just north of Breckinridge, just northwest of the intersection of Breckinridge Road and Hunter Road.

Honigsberg advised that anyone living within at least 5 miles of the epicenter should check for damage and contact their insurance agent if there is damage. [Why isn’t he advising people to go to those causing the damages, eg contact the energy regulator and companies frac’ing and or injected frac waste in the area, and demand damage bonds?]

“I need folks who live in Breckinridge and those that live within 5 miles of the epicenter to check around their homes for any brick and other structural damage (Monday) morning. If you have this kind of damage, contact your insurance agent immediately. [Trying to limit the cost of the damages?  Get claims in quickly, far too soon, before the real extent of damages is known and trick the families to endure the costs via deductibles and increased insurance costs? Why not wait until it is stated industry caused the damages, and then go after the corrupt politicians, regulators and companies? Make them pay, instead of the harmed families.]

“On the inside of your home, check all corners above your windows and doors for cracks. Again, contact your insurance agent. Hopefully, you have earthquake insurance.”

He asked that any damage also be reported to him at email hidden; JavaScript is required.

First quake reaction

People reported feeling the first earthquake in Stillwater, Mooreland and in Wichita, Kan.

“Heard the rumble, felt my chair rock sideways as the wave move through the house,” Dennis Speicher, of Enid, wrote on the News & Eagle Facebook page.

On the west side of Enid, Phyllis Logsdon wrote she thought her television was going to fall off its stand.

“In Garber moved through like a wave and hit hard enough to creek the walls and rattle the windows. You could also still hear it as it moved away,” Mike Thorp wrote.

Enid residents throughout the city reported shaking, creaking houses.

“Super loud North of Enid,” Sara Mendenhall Gorman wrote on Facebook. “Could hear it coming before it hit. Grandfather clock chimed in its own!”

USGS records show the two quakes are the largest temblors recorded this year in Oklahoma, and only the third measuring magnitude 4.0 or greater. A magnitude 4.0 quake occurred 14 miles east-northeast of Mooreland on Feb. 16.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been 25 magnitude 3.0 or greater earthquakes recorded in the state, according to the USGS. Last year, as of March 4, 2017, there had been 42 magnitude 3.0 or greater quakes.

‘Almost as strong’

The second earthquake occurred shortly before press time.

“Almost as strong as first one but don’t think it lasted as long,” Kim Mullen wrote from the Indian Hills addition in Enid.

According to the USGS, aftershocks are earthquakes that follow the largest shock of an earthquake sequence. Smaller than the mainshock and within one to two rupture lengths distance from the mainshock, aftershocks can continue over a period of weeks, months or years. In general, the larger the mainshock, the larger and more numerous the aftershocks, and the longer they will continue. [Emphasis added]

Second Earthquake Shakes Northern Oklahoma by News9, Mar 04, 2018

GARFIELD COUNTY, Oklahoma – A second earthquake rattled Sunday afternoon in northwest Oklahoma, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The 4.2 magnitude earthquake was reported at 9:40 p.m. It’s epicenter was about two miles north, northwest of Breckenridge, seven miles southeast of Kremlin, and 70 miles north of Oklahoma City.

The quake was more than three miles deep.

There have been no reports of structural damage, or injury at this time.

Earthquake Rattles In Northern Oklahoma by News9, Mar 04, 2018 4:54 PM MST Updated: Mar 05, 2018 3:41 AM MST

GARFIELD COUNTY, Oklahoma – An earthquake ratted Sunday afternoon in northwest Oklahoma, the U.S Geological Survey reported.

The 4.2 magnitude earthquake was reported at 5:17 p.m. in Garfield County. It’s epicenter was about three miles north, northeast of Breckenridge, six miles south, southwest of Hunter, and 70 miles north of Oklahoma city.

The quake was more than three miles deep.

There are have been reports of structural damage in Breckenridge.

No reports of injuries have been made.

Judge grants stays in Oklahoma earthquake lawsuits by K. Querry & Associated Press, March 2, 2018, KFOR TV

Buildings in downtown Cushing were damaged after the 5.0 earthquake.

STILLWATER, Okla. – Oklahoma residents who are suing oil and gas producers for earthquake damage to their homes and businesses must now wait for a federal judge’s decision in another case.

The Stillwater News Press reports that Judge Phillip Corley granted a stay with a provision for monitoring until Sept. 6 [And how many more “stays” after that to coddle the companies causing the damages?] in the cases involving White Star Petroleum LLC, New Dominion LLC and plaintiffs from Payne and Logan counties.

Attorneys from both companies requested stays until a decision is made about certifying the plaintiffs in a federal class action case.

The attorneys say their clients are spending large amounts of money to make appearances in multiple courts and hope to avoid inconsistent rulings. [Poor babies. If they truly cared, the companies would not frac and inject waste water, and not cause earthquakes.]

The plaintiffs’ attorneys argued that the cases shouldn’t be delayed because their clients deserve to be remedied without delay. [How often do courts/judges give a damn about ordinary families harmed by oil and gas? ]

The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the oil and gas companies following a 5.0 magnitude earthquake that either damaged or destroyed dozens of buildings in Cushing in 2016.

The lawsuit alleges that the companies are responsible for damages caused to homes and businesses because they were injecting wastewater in the area, and may have caused the earthquake.

The lawsuit asks for more than $10,000 for property damage, market value loss to property, emotional distress and punitive damages. [Emphasis added]

[Foreshadowing by Canadian and American quake experts, some more than 50 years ago:

March 1, 2018: Nikiforuk: Warning Bells about Fracking and Earthquakes Growing Louder, Quakes easy to trigger and hard to halt, researchers find ]

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