Metro Residents Looking For Answers At Earthquake Town Hall Meeting

It was a packed house inside Waterloo Baptist Church, as lawmakers and the oil and gas industry hosted an earthquake town hall meeting in Edmond.

Recently, Oklahoma has become earthquake country, and judging by this massive turnout at Thursday night's meeting, residents want answers.

"To me, it's kind of scary. I mean, just to start happening," said Guthrie resident Mae Emerson. "There's got to be a reason for it, you know. Why is this happening all of a sudden?"

According to the OGS, this year alone, there have been more earthquakes in Oklahoma than in California.

"The concern is everything from safety to property damage, to just wanting more information about what state officials are doing to monitor and keep on top of the issue," State Representative Jason Murphey said.

Residents listened closely to information from Oklahoma Corporation Commissioners and others, but for some, the data itself was overwhelming.

"Hear about them in California and everywhere else," said Logan County resident, Wayne Burright. "Now, all of a sudden, they're here. We just want to know why."

"That's the question, isn't it, and the answer is we don't know," said Oklahoma Corporation Commission spokesman Matt Skinner. "Are there suspects in all of this? Well of course." 

The OGS reported more than 15 earthquakes today alone, all above a 2.0 magnitude.

"We're in this together. This is not just an abstract view of police making," said Skinner. "My house was shaking. I was woken up this morning. Commissioners' homes was shaking."

Residents have their own theories about what's happening hundreds of feet below the surface.

"Drilling oil wells that's very close to us, and we've had several earthquakes going through the area," Guthrie resident Jack Emerson said.

"We would like to know why, what for and how come," added Mae Emerson.

Representative Murphey says he has asked for a legislative study to look at the Corporation Commissions monitoring program, specifically when it comes to deep waste water injection sites.