OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A record-tying earthquake in the edge of Oklahoma’s key energy-producing areas rattled the Midwest from Illinois to the southwest part of Texas on Saturday, and likely will bring fresh attention to the practice of disposing oil and gas field wastewater deep underground. However, hard bedrock beneath the surface in north-central Oklahoma is likely the reason for less damage, Oklahoma Geological Survey geophysicist Jefferson Chang said, adding that the subsurface around Prague is softer. The declaration is also the first step toward seeking federal aid should it be necessary

The damage is not as severe as the 2011 quake near Prague, Oklahoma, about 60 miles south of Pawnee, despite being the same magnitude and approximately the same depth. Geologists say damage is not likely in earthquakes below magnitude 4.0, however, some buildings suffered severe structural damage from the quake in Pawnee. Pawnee County Emergency Management Director Mark Randell said no buildings collapsed in the town of 2,200 about nine miles southeast of the epicenter, and there were no injuries, either. “Most of it’s brick and mortar, old buildings from the early 1900s.”

Randell also said a man suffered a minor head injury when part of a fireplace fell on him as he protected a child. “But in harder rock, it won’t shake as much.”

Pawnee furniture store owner Lee Wills told The Associated Press that he first thought it was a thunderstorm. (CNN) The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is telling operators to shut down 35 disposal wells that may have played a role in a 5.6-magnitude earthquake that shook at least six states Saturday, Gov. Fallin declares state of emergency in Pawnee County following earthquake

Officials with the Pawnee County Emergency Management say buildings there suffered significant damage as the result of the earthquake. “We’re trying to do this as quickly as possible, but we have to follow the recommendations of the seismologists, who tell us everything going off at once can cause an [earthquake].”

People in Kansas City and St. Louis, Missouri; Chicago; Gilbert, Arizona; Fayetteville and Little Rock, Arkansas; Des Moines, Iowa; Memphis, Tennessee; and Big Lake in southwest Texas, all reported feeling the earthquake. Saturday's quake was centered about 9 miles northwest of Pawnee, Oklahoma, which has a population of about 2,200. An increase in magnitude 3.0 or greater earthquakes in Oklahoma has been linked to underground disposal of wastewater from oil and natural gas production. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which since 2013 has asked wastewater-well owners to reduce disposal volumes in parts of the state, directed about 35 wells within an approximately 500-square-mile area around the epicenter to shut down within seven to 10 days because of previous connections between the injection of wastewater and earthquakes.
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake strikes Pawnee, Oklahoma, tying the record for the strongest in state history. At least one person was injured.