18 Earthquakes in Oklahoma City Metro Within 24 hours, Agencies Investigate

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — 18 earthquakes in the Oklahoma City metropolitan area within 24 hours. How could this be?

Multiple agencies are still investigating this. A state seismologist tells Fox 25 this particular fault , or crack in the earth’s crust where you can get friction that leads to earthquakes, has been active for years.

“Earthquakes can be unnerving, as they are quite unpredictable,” Dr. Jake Walter said.

Dr. Walter says there have been nearly 500 earthquakes on this fault within the past decade, including three magnitude 4 events in 2015 and 2017.

“Back when wastewater disposal was higher in the area.”

The active fault struck again Friday night into Saturday morning.

“There’s no concurrent wastewater disposal in recent times in the last several years nearby this particular fault sequence. So, we don’t really understand why this fault has woken up, so to speak. But we’re continuing to look at it, and continuing to examine the data.”

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission tells Fox 25 this is likely not oil and gas related, and fracking is not happening in the area.

Our Induced Seismicity Department is studying the quakes. At this point, there is no oil and gas activity found in the area to stop. There are no hydraulic fracturing operations, and the deep-formation disposal of oil and gas wastewater that had been linked to earlier quakes in the area was stopped by the OCC some years ago. Again, however, the research continues.

Dr. Walter says he’s continuing to monitor the seismicity of this sequence, or how frequent earthquakes are happening in an area.

“There will be continued aftershocks into the weekend.”

He expects there to be small earthquakes, decreasing in frequency and magnitude in the next several days.

“Now, it’s always possible to have aftershocks that are as big or bigger than the main shocks. So, folks should be prepared.”

Dr. Walter recommends protecting your valuables, and practicing what’s called “drop, cover and hold on.”

“If the shaking is much stronger, you can have things fall down and potentially cause injury. So we always spread the mantra to drop, cover and hold on in case of stronger shaking.”

The Oklahoma Geological Survey shared the following statement:

There was a M4.3 event at 9:46 PM local time yesterday evening, followed by a M4.1 this morning, about 5:36 AM on January 13, 2024. There were reports of strong shaking in the immediate area and across Oklahoma City. The M4.4 yesterday evening was preceded by a M3.2 foreshock almost 10 minutes prior to the M4.4. In addition, there has been activity along this fault in the last month starting on December 29, with 5 events between M1.0-1.6 between December 29 and January 6. The seismicity from the last decade indicates there were 3 M4.0 or greater events in 2015 and 2017, corresponding to a time period when wastewater disposal volumes were higher. Whereas most aftershocks are smaller than the mainshock, a very small fraction of aftershocks result in a larger earthquake than the main event. The seismic hazard remains high in the area. Citizens should secure valuables that might shake during possible strong aftershocks and practice Drop, Cover, and Hold On in the event of damaging events. We will continue to monitor the seismicity and provide assistance to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC), other state agencies, and the public.

The earthquake catalog is updated in real-time (https://wichita.ogs.ou.edu/staff/earthquake/events.html) and the state catalog is redundantly reported to USGS; USGS events within the state are derived directly from OGS earthquake locations and magnitudes since May 2019.

The Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS) is a state agency and a research organization of the University of Oklahoma. OGS monitors seismicity throughout the state; an effort that began with the Leonard Geophysical Observatory starting in the 1970s and continues today in Norman. Today, the seismic network encompasses 90+ seismometers that deliver real-time data to the central data hub in Norman. Analysts in Norman process the seismic data and deliver updated earthquake locations, magnitudes, and other scientific data products that are freely-available and shared through the OGS website (http://ogs.ou.edu/) and through collaborative partners.