A 5.6 Magnitude Earthquake Hit Oklahoma, The Strongest Quake Ever Recorded In The Region

A 5.6 magnitude earthquake, which is the strongest quake ever hit Oklahoma, rocked the area northwest pf Pawnee on Saturday. It was felt from South Dakota to Texas. The federal agency said that the seismic activity is linked to energy production, which triggers for a call to close some 35 wastewater disposal wells in the area.

Oklahoma earthquake struck near Pawnee, an hour west of Tulsa. Tremors felt across 7 states https://t.co/SyO0fJRJIZ pic.twitter.com/Pii29BArkI

— CNN (@CNN) September 3, 2016

Pawnee Mayor Brad Sewell said that the tremor lasted just about a minute and part of the façade of an early 20th-century bank building fell into a downtown street. "It's an old historical building about 100 years old. It's still standing but some of the outer layers of sandstone fell," said Mayor Brad Sewell.

#BanFrackingNow 5.6 magnitude earthquake rattles Oklahoma https://t.co/HTrhCXi9ih # via @HuffPostGreen — Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) September 3, 2016

According to Reuters, the quake, which was only 4.1 miles (6.6 km) deep, could fuel concerns about the environmental impact of oil and gas drilling. This has been denunciated for a solid spike in minor to rational quakes in the area.

Oklahoma ordered 35 fracking/oil disposal wells to shut down after earthquake this AM https://t.co/YVPxUjxp6J pic.twitter.com/nok3FLPOgc

— CNNMoney (@CNNMoney) September 3, 2016

CNN reports that the oil and gas drillers and other industries use the disposal wells, in which there is a need to inject toxic wastewater into the earth. This raise concerns that they may induce earthquakes and could have possible pollution of the water supply. Governor Mary Fallin said that the Environmental Protection Agency is now investigating it.

The USGS said that there was a total of 11 earthquakes in the same region on Saturday. The quake magnitudes ranged from 2.7 to 5.6 magnitude. The largest hit at 7:02 A.M. (8:02 A.M. ET).