Janice R. Andrews
The Oklahoma Geological Survey said that late Friday night, a large magnitude 5.1 earthquake in Prague, some 63 miles east of the city, shook the Oklahoma City area. Following the seismic event, which happened at 11:24 p.m. local time, there were several aftershocks, some of which had a magnitude of 3.5.
In the upcoming days, state seismologist Jake Walter expects further aftershocks. Remarkably, Walter posted on social media that this 5.1 magnitude earthquake occurred on the same fault that caused the 5.7 magnitude earthquake in Prague in 2011.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Oklahoma was affected by the earthquake to a large extent, including major cities like Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Furthermore, reports of tremors in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, and even sections of Texas indicate that its impact extended beyond state lines. Even while they happen less frequently than in the West, earthquakes east of the Rockies tend to be felt over wider distances, according to the USGS.
This seismic event comes after a 4.1-magnitude, 4.1-mile-deep earthquake that struck the Oklahoma City region in mid-January. This previous earthquake occurred close to the Northeast Edmond Gas and Oil Field along a fault line.
Recent years have seen an increase in earthquake activity in Oklahoma, with many of the occurrences being connected to human activity, such as the extraction of natural gas and oil. Following this most recent seismic incident, inhabitants of the state are warned to remain careful as aftershocks are predicted to occur.
