Oklahoma Just Experienced Its Largest Earthquake on Record

By Jeanna Bryner, Live Science Managing Editor | September 8, 2016 10:54am ET

The earthquake that shook Pawnee, Oklahoma, on Sept. 3 is now the state's largest
temblor on record, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, which just upgraded the magnitude
to 5.8.
The earthquake was previously pegged at magnitude 5.6. But further analysis of the
seismic recordings from the event found the quake size to have a bigger moment magnitude,
according to the USGS. (Moment magnitude, which is based on the total energy released by the
event, is considered a more accurate measure of magnitude than that of the now rarely used
Richter scale, the USGS says.)
"Changes in estimated magnitude for an earthquake are common in the hours-to-days
following the event, as more data are analyzed in greater detail than is possible in the first
minutes after the earthquake occurs," according to a USGS statement.
The USGS also ticked up the magnitude of the Nov. 6, 2011, quake that shook an area
near Prague, Oklahoma; the previously estimated 5.6 is now a magnitude 5.7. That quake, which
was felt in 17 states, injured two people and destroyed more than a dozen homes, according to
the USGS.
Hotspot for earthquakes?
The Pawnee earthquake may be the largest ever recorded in Oklahoma; but comparing
current recorded magnitudes with those in the past can be tricky, since seismic instrumentation
has "vastly improved" in the past few decades, the USGS said.
Even so, Oklahoma has experienced more earthquakes of late. And in May 2014, the USGS and
the Oklahoma Geological Survey sounded a rare alarm. They issued an earthquake warning for
the first time in any state east of the Rockies. The agencies warned that the risk of a
damaging earthquake (larger than magnitude 5.0) had increased significantly in central
Oklahoma.
Humans most likely are to blame. Over the past seven years, Oklahoma and other states in the
central and eastern U.S. have experienced an uptick in the number of induced earthquakes, or
those caused by human activities, according to the USGS. "Since 2009 rates in some areas, such
as Oklahoma, have increased by more than an order of magnitude," the USGS said.

Research has suggested much of the increased seismic activity is linked to wastewater from oil
and gas production being injected into wells deep underground, according to the USGS. Other
human activities like hydraulic fracturing (also used in oil and gas production) may also trigger
these earthquakes.
Due to such human activities, the central and eastern United States are now at risk of earthquakes
with the same magnitude as those that occur naturally in California, a USGS report released in
March revealed.
In that report, scientists calculated that north-central Oklahoma and the southernmost part of
Kansas were the two spots in the region with the greatest risk of experiencing a human-induced
earthquake.

6.2-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Central Italy

By Jeanna Bryner, Live Science Managing Editor | August 24, 2016 09:17am ET
The 6.2-magnitude earthquake that rocked central Italy this morning (Aug. 24), killing dozens
and demolishing an entire village, occurred in a region that is "geologically complex," according to the
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The main temblor struck at 3:36 a.m. local time, about 6.5 miles (10.5 kilometers) southeast of
Norcia, Italy. That quake was followed by several others, including a 5.5-magnitude earthquake that
struck 2.5 miles (4 km) northeast of Norcia at 4:33 a.m. local time, as reported by the New York Times.
The main quake occurred along a fault in the Central Apennines mountain range, which runs from the
Gulf of Taranto to the southern edge of the Po basin in northern Italy, according to the USGS.
"This region is tectonically and geologically complex," the USGS said. There, the Adria micro-plate dives
beneath (or subducts) the Appenines from east to west, while the Eurasia and Africa tectonic plates collide
in the region, something that is also responsible for building the Alpine mountain belt to the north.
"At the location of the earthquake, the Eurasia plate moves toward the northeast with respect to Africa at a
rate of approximately 24 mm/year," the USGS noted.
The central Apennine region is no stranger to earth shaking. In September 1997, a magnitude-6.0 temblor
rocked an area about 31 miles (50 km) north-northwest of today's event, killing 11 people, injuring more
than 100 and destroying some 80,000 homes, according to the USGS.
And perhaps the most well-known, and devastating, event in the region occurred in April 2009 when
a 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck near the town of L'Aquila. In that disaster, at least 295 people were
killed and more than 1,000 were injured. The main L'Aquila quake was followed by intense aftershocks.
(Six scientists were convicted of manslaughter in 2012 for giving the public the false impression that
there was nothing to fear from the tremors that had rocked the area for months prior to the major event.)
The largest recorded earthquake nearby occurred on Jan. 13, 1915, when a magnitude-6.7 quake killed
approximately 32,000 people, according to the USGS.
The current earthquake wiped out the town of Amatrice, according to the city's mayor, who reportedly
said, "Half the town no longer exists." In addition, scores of people are stuck under debris, reported the
NY Times. The most badly damaged towns include Accumoli, Amatrice, Arquata del Tronto and Pescara
del Tronto, according to the NY Times.