An earthquake about 7:02 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 3, centered more than 300 miles away near Pawnee, Okla., was felt in Kansas City, Kan., according to residents.
Shaking for around 10 seconds was reported in Kansas City, Kan. The U.S. Geologic Survey stated it was a magnitude 5.6 earthquake centered near Pawnee, Okla.
Four aftershocks occurred within an hour of the main earthquake, according to the USGS.
According to the USGS, the Oklahoma earthquake occurred as the result of shallow strike-slip faulting about 15 km northwest of the town of Pawnee. It occurred within the interior of the North America plate, far from any plate boundaries, according to the USGS.
Early indications based on preliminary aftershock locations indicated the right later north-northeast plane may have been activated, and this will be investigated in the future.
Before today’s earthquake, the surrounding area of Oklahoma and Kansas have had closed to 80 other magnitude 4 or larger events over the preceding decade, according to the USGS. Two were larger than magnitude 5: a magnitude 5.6 earthquake in November 2011 near Prague, Okla.; and a magnitude 5.1 in February 2016 near Fairview, Okla.
The USGS also reported a magnitude 3.2 earthquake occurred on Sept. 1, 2016, just to the southwest of the Sept. 3 earthquake.
There has been an increase in the number of induced earthquakes in the region in the past seven years, the USGS said. Some of them have been caused by wastewater injection in deep disposal wells in several locations, the USGS said. At this time, the USGS did not state a cause for the Sept. 3 earthquake.