2014 Oklahoma Earthquake Discussion

[JayhawkTransplant]

I seem to always notice them if I'm at home. Sometimes I wonder if it's because I have a basement? I'm definitely not the most observant person in the world...

[ljbab728]

You likely won't notice them if you have noise going on like the TV or radio. The sudden, brief thundering, rumbling crash sound they make usually startles me more than the jolt or two they make. The quakes under 3.0 usually don't travel very far.

I didn't have any of those things going on and still didn't hear or feel anything.

[Dennis Heaton]

Saturday, 7/12, was quite an active day, perhaps to an unusual extent, for quakes in the Langston-Guthrie area. At least 7 of them happened over the magnitude of 2.0.

It would be interesting to find out if these EQ's are happening more often when the Moon is closest to the Earth?

[bandnerd]

I never notice them, but I'm on the far NW side of OKC. The last one I felt was that one around 11:30pm in November a couple years ago. I was standing alone in my living room and noticed things shaking. My friends outside didn't notice or hear it at all.

The only way I know they're even happening is the freak-outs on Facebook and the news.

[Dennis Heaton]

The only way I know they're even happening is the freak-outs on Facebook and the news.

News 9 has even started putting up a Breaking News Box on the bottom left side of their Channel whenever there is a "jolt." I'll have to snap a pic of it next time I see it. But hey, I guess News 9 shook things up a bit when they picked up JoJo.

[Urbanized]

I seem to always notice them if I'm at home. Sometimes I wonder if it's because I have a basement? I'm definitely not the most observant person in the world...

That's pretty likely, actually. You notice them more on the upper floors of buildings than you do on the ground floor. In your case, the fact that your ground floor has some bounce to it as opposed to if it were on a slab magnifies the jolt. You're effectively on the second story of your house if you have a basement.

[Dennis Heaton]

That's pretty likely, actually. You notice them more on the upper floors of buildings than you do on the ground floor. In your case, the fact that your ground floor has some bounce to it as opposed to if it were on a slab magnifies the jolt. You're effectively on the second story of your house if you have a basement.

My neighbor, downstairs, said she didn't feel a thing, neither did anyone laying out at the pool. But, my upstairs neighbor and I sure did. So, it must be true.

[Urbanized]

^^^^^^^

I used to feel them all of the time when I officed on the third floor of a building in Bricktown, have not felt a single one at work since moving to canal (basement) level. My office manager noticed one a few weeks ago when I wasn't I the office, but it was a relatively big one. When at home, I have only noticed them while upstairs. Could be why so many people never notice them; they might only live/work on ground level. Also people who don't usually experience them might spend most of their time in structures that are relatively isolated from the surrounding terrain (lots of sand in the underlying soil, for instance).

It would be interesting to explore, actually; for those of you who have experienced/noticed a lot of the earthquakes, were you usually on a ground floor or on an upper level of your home or office?

[turnpup]

^^^^^^^
It would be interesting to explore, actually; for those of you who have experienced/noticed a lot of the earthquakes, were you usually on a ground floor or on an upper level of your home or office?

I've experienced them from three different levels of our house in NW OKC near I-44 and 23rd Street. In 2011 when the big one happened, we were in the den in the basement, sitting in recliners watching the news (and, incidentally, got to see how Ed Murray on News 9 responded when he was broadcasting live when it happened). It was a really strange sensation being down inside the earth when things started shaking. No objects or furniture down there rattled or moved around. It was just *us* being thumped and bumped.

Last year's fairly large one (don't remember when, but it was during the day) caught me on the ground level of the house, in the kitchen. It seemed to shake things up more than the larger one in 2011. Pots and pans hanging on a wall rack were rattling for quite a while. I remember hearing a few other noises of things being displaced. Nothing was broken, though.

This last one—yesterday—found me upstairs in the home office. Sitting at my desk I could feel a slight rocking motion. This time nothing seemed to rattle at all (even down in the kitchen, which is adjacent, so I would've heard the pots and pans if they had moved at all).

I went ahead and added earthquake insurance to our policy a few weeks ago. In our location, we're not seemingly as likely as some others to have substantial damage, but one never knows. It's got a high enough deductible that it would only cover a major damage event. Still, the peace of mind is a good thing to have.

[Dennis Heaton]

I have been in an upstairs apartment since late 2000. I used to work outside. I never felt an EQ (in OK) until the big one in November 2011. Since then, I have felt maybe 5 or so around Hefner and Council.

[zookeeper]

Front page of CNN: Seven earthquakes shake Oklahoma in two days - CNN.com

Video story has a nice skyline shot.

[venture]

3.9 quake up to the SW of Medford and north of Enid about 20 minutes ago now.

[venture]

Just heard some rumbling and such a couple minutes ago and it looks like it was an earthquake.

[John1744]

Felt it very strongly in Harrah. Woke us all up from a dead sleep and knocked several things off the top of the refrigerator.

Welp USGS just said 3.8 in Harrah.

[venture]

Preferred Location Parameters

Parameter	Value	Uncertainty
Magnitude	3.8 mb_lg	± 0.04
Location	35.530°N, 97.138°W	Not Specified
Depth	9.5 km	± 6.8 km
Number of Stations Used	Not Specified
Number of Phases Used	54
Minimum Distance	7.8 km (0.07°)
Travel Time Residual	0.49 sec
Azimuthal Gap	27°
Review Status	MANUAL
Event ID

[venture]

Felt that one this time.

[ylouder]

Just felt it

[John1744]

Wow we just had another, super fast but it felt strong.

[venture]

Chat room regular reporting pictures knocked off her wall that time.

[venture]

NWS Tulsa ✔ @NWStulsa

410 am...quake felt here at WFO Tulsa. waiting for the USGS for the details. #okquake

[zookeeper]

"Just" a 3.9.....thought it was bigger.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquak...00rt2i#summary

[venture]

"Just" a 3.9.....thought it was bigger.
M3.9 - 8km NNE of Harrah, Oklahoma 2014-07-15 09:08:41 UTC

Note the depth...much deeper. That probably has something to do with it.

Parameter	Value	Uncertainty
Magnitude	3.9 mb	± 0.09
Location	35.556°N, 97.123°W	Not Specified
Depth	11.6 km	± 4.4 km
Number of Stations Used	Not Specified
Number of Phases Used	108
Minimum Distance	5.6 km (0.05°)
Travel Time Residual	0.94 sec
Azimuthal Gap	18°
Review Status	MANUAL
Event ID

[zookeeper]

Note the depth...much deeper. That probably has something to do with it.

Parameter	Value	Uncertainty
Magnitude	3.9 mb	± 0.09
Location	35.556°N, 97.123°W	Not Specified
Depth	11.6 km	± 4.4 km
Number of Stations Used	Not Specified
Number of Phases Used	108
Minimum Distance	5.6 km (0.05°)
Travel Time Residual	0.94 sec
Azimuthal Gap	18°
Review Status	MANUAL
Event ID

Twitter had people in North Texas feeling it - you are probably right.

[BlackmoreRulz]

Holy moley that was a strong one!

[Richard at Remax]

pretty good jolt in east Edmond. gonna guess around 3.7