http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/quake-oklahoma-oil-hub-prompts-infrastructure-concerns-43351330

[Irony: the major threat to oil supply in North America might be fracking to produce natural gas.

video in on-line article]

Official: 40 to 50 Buildings Damaged in Oklahoma Quake

By justin juozapavicius, associated press

CUSHING, Okla. — Nov 7, 2016, 2:38 PM ET

Dozens of buildings sustained "substantial damage" after a 5.0 magnitude earthquake struck an Oklahoma town that's home to one of the world's key oil hubs, but officials said Monday that no damage has been reported at the oil terminal.

Cushing City Manager Steve Spears said 40 to 50 buildings were damaged in Sunday's earthquake, which was the third in Oklahoma this year with a magnitude of 5.0 or greater. No major injuries have been reported, and Spears said the damage included cracks to buildings and fallen bricks and facades.

Oklahoma has had thousands of earthquakes in recent years, with nearly all traced to the underground injection of wastewater left over from oil and gas production. Sunday's quake was centered 1 mile west of Cushing and about 25 miles south of where a magnitude 4.3 quake forced a shutdown of several wells last week.

Fearing aftershocks, police cordoned off older parts of the city about 50 miles northeast of Oklahoma City to keep gawkers away late Sunday, and geologists confirmed that several small quakes have rumbled the area. Spears said an assisted living community had been evacuated after damage was reported. The Cushing Public School District canceled Monday classes.

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation reported Sunday night that no highway or bridge damage was found within a 15-mile radius of the earthquake's epicenter.

The quake struck at 7:44 p.m. Sunday and was felt as far away as Iowa, Illinois and Texas. The U.S. Geological Survey initially said Sunday's quake was of magnitude 5.3 but later lowered the reading to 5.0.

"I thought my whole trailer was going to tip over, it was shaking it so bad," said Cushing resident Cindy Roe, 50. "It was loud and all the lights went out and you could hear things falling on the ground.

"It was awful and I don't want to have another one."

In recent years, Oklahoma regulators have asked oil and gas producers to either close wastewater injection wells or cut back on the volume of fluids injected. The reductions have generally led to a drop-off in quakes and their severity, though not always.

Oklahoma's strongest quake on record, a magnitude 5.8 temblor on Sept. 3, occurred in Pawnee, on the fringe of an area that had already restricted wastewater disposal. Shortly afterward, geologists speculated on whether the temblor occurred on a previously unknown fault.

Cushing's oil storage terminal is one of the world's largest. As of Oct. 28, tank farms in the countryside around Cushing held 58.5 million barrels of crude oil, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The community bills itself as the "Pipeline Crossroads of the World."

Cushing Assistant City Manager Jeremy Frazier said two pipeline companies had reported no trouble as of late Sunday but that the community hadn't heard from all companies. Gov. Mary Fallin tweeted that no damage was reported at the storage tanks at Cushing's oil storage terminal

Megan Gustafson and Jonathan Gillespie were working at a Cushing McDonald's when the quake hit.

"It felt like a train was going right through the building, actually," Gustafson, 17, said Sunday night as she and her co-workers stood behind a police barricade downtown, looking for damage. "I kind of freaked out and was hyperventilating a bit."

Gillespie said the building shook for about 10 seconds, but that he wasn't as alarmed as Gustafson because he lives in an area that has experienced multiple earthquakes, especially in recent years.

"I didn't think it was anything new," he said.

According to USGS data, there have been about two dozen earthquakes in Oklahoma in the past week. When particularly strong quakes hit, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission directs well operators to cease wastewater injections or reduce volume.

"I was at home doing some work in my office and, basically, you could feel the whole house sway some," Spears, the Cushing city manager, said Sunday night. "It's beginning to become normal."

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http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/oklahoma-earthquake-1.3839394

[images in on-line article]

Oklahoma quake strikes near one of world's largest oil storage terminals
No adverse reports from pipeline companies but town of Cushing suffers 'quite a bit of damage'

The Associated Press Posted: Nov 06, 2016 9:50 PM ET Last Updated: Nov 07, 2016 9:10 AM ET

A sharp earthquake centred near one of the world's key oil hubs Sunday night triggered fears that the magnitude 5.0 temblor might have damaged key infrastructure in addition to causing what police described as "quite a bit of damage" in the Oklahoma prairie town of Cushing.

City Manager Steve Spears said a few minor injuries were reported and questioned whether some of the community's century-old buildings might be unsafe. Police cordoned off older parts of the town to keep away gawkers.

"Stay out of the area," Spears told residents during a late-night news conference.

Emergency officials evacuated an assisted living centre catering to the elderly in Cushing.

Assistant City Manager Jeremy Frazier said that while damage was reported at the Cimarron Tower after the quake, no injuries were reported among the home's residents.

It wasn't immediately known how many people lived at the building in downtown Cushing. Tulsa television station KOTV said some of those taken from the home were moved to the Cushing Youth Center.

Frazier said the temblor caused the most damage in and around Cushing's century-old downtown. A number of brick facades had collapsed, and window panes in several buildings shattered. Frazier said city leaders could do a better assessment after sun-up.

'I don't want to have another one'

Cindy Roe, 50, has lived in Cushing all her life and said she's never felt anything like Sunday's quake.

"I thought my whole trailer was going to tip over, it was shaking it so bad," she said. "It was loud and all the lights went out and you could hear things falling on the ground.

"It was awful and I don't want to have another one."

Megan Gustafson and Jonathan Gillespie were working a shift at a McDonald's in Cushing when the quake hit.

"It felt like a train was going right through the building, actually," Gustafson, 17, said Sunday night as she and her co-workers stood behind a police barricade downtown, looking for damage. "I kind of freaked out and was hyperventilating a bit."

Gillespie, also 17, described the building as shaking for about 10 seconds or so.

But he said he wasn't as alarmed as Gustafson because he lives in an area that has experienced multiple earthquakes, especially in recent years.

"I didn't think it was anything new," he said.
Felt in Iowa, Illinois, Texas

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission said it and the Oklahoma Geological Survey were investigating after the quake, which struck at 7:44 p.m. and was felt as far away as Iowa, Illinois and Texas.

"The OCC's Pipeline Safety Department has been in contact with pipeline operators in the Cushing oil storage terminal under state jurisdiction and there have been no immediate reports of any problems," the commission's spokesman, Matt Skinner, said in a statement. "The assessment of the infrastructure continues."

Assistant City Manager Jeremy Frazier said two pipeline companies had reported no trouble but that the community hadn't heard from all companies.

The oil storage terminal is one of the world's largest. As of Oct. 28, tank farms in the countryside around Cushing held 58.5 million barrels of crude oil, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The community bills itself as the "Pipeline Crossroads of the World."

The Cushing Police Department reported "quite a bit of damage" in the town of 7,900. Spears said some damage was superficial — bricks falling off facades — but that some older buildings might have damaged foundations that would be difficult to assess until daylight.

Fearing aftershocks, Police Chief Tully Folden said people needed to stay out of downtown, where photos posted to social media showed piles of debris at the base of commercial buildings.

The Cushing Public School District has cancelled classes Monday in order to assess the earthquake damage.

Oklahoma has had thousands of earthquakes in recent years, with nearly all traced to the underground injection of wastewater left over from oil and gas production. Sunday's quake was centred about two kilometres west of Cushing — and about 40 kilometres south of where a magnitude 4.3 quake forced a shutdown of several wells last week.

Spears said at the news conference that earthquakes are no longer out of the ordinary.

"I was at home doing some work in my office and, basically, you could feel the whole house sway some. It's beginning to become normal," Spears said. "Nothing surprises you anyway."

The U.S. Geological Survey said initially that Sunday's quake was of magnitude 5.3 but later lowered the reading to 5.0.

According to USGS data, there have been 19 earthquakes in Oklahoma in the past week. When particularly strong quakes hit, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission directs well operators to cease wastewater injections or reduce volume.

A 5.8 earthquake — a record for Oklahoma — hit Pawnee on Sept. 3. Shortly afterward, geologists speculated on whether the temblor occurred on a previously unknown fault.
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