Multiple Quakes, Including A 4.2M, Rattle Edmond Area In Past 24 Hours

The shaking continues in the Edmond area. The USGS recorded a 3.3 magnitude earthquake at 11:11 a.m., just more than four miles east northeast of Edmond at a depth of about thrree miles.

This is the fifth earthquake recorded in a tight, three-mile radius in the past 24 hours.

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A 3.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded around 11:37 Wednesday night, near Waynoka in Woods County. 

A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded almost two hours prior near Edmond in Oklahoma County, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The earthquake was initially reported as a 4.4 magnitude before it was downgraded by the USGS. This was the fifth earthquake to be recorded in a little more than a 24-time span in Oklahoma County.

The latest earthquake was reported shortly after 9:55 p.m. Its epicenter was more than four miles east, northeast of Edmond, less than 14 miles south of Guthrie and more than 15 miles north, northeast of Oklahoma City. 

The earthquake was more than five miles deep.

More than 4,600 customers were without power in Edmond after the earthquake, according to Edmond Electric. Two substations were affected by the outage.

More than an hour after the quake, almost all customers had their power restored.

Four other earthquakes of 3.0 magnitude or higher were reported in the area. The first was a 3.0-magnitude about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. The second was a 3.5-magnitude about 12:15 a.m. and the third was a 3.0-magnitude at 2:45 a.m. The fourth earthquake was reported 3:45 p.m. Wednesday and was a 3.3 magnitude.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission announced in a press release early this morning they are investigating whether oil and gas wastewater disposal wells injecting into the Arbuckle formation played a role into this recent rash of earthquakes occurring in such a tight cluster.

The Induced Seismicity Department at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) and the Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS) are investigating the latest earthquake activity in the Edmond area.

The investigation is focused on oil and gas wastewater disposal wells that inject into the Arbuckle formation, the state's deepest formation.

The earthquakes have been clustered close together in an area where there is a known fault. There are no Arbuckle disposal wells at or very close to the location.

There have been no changes to the restrictions placed last year on Arbuckle disposal wells in the Edmond area.

An OCC Oil and Gas Division Field Inspector has checked those Arbuckle disposal wells within an approximately 10-mile radius of the earthquake activity, and recent data on the wells' operations is being reviewed by the OCC.

The Edmond area is part of the much larger earthquake Area of Interest (AOI) in which the OCC has instituted volume reductions in Arbuckle disposal well operations. These actions have included well closures.