States of Texas and Oklahoma rattled by 3.7 and 4.5 magnitude earthquakes

December 9, 2013 – MINERAL WELLS, TX — North Texas has had another earthquake in the same general area where more than a dozen minor quakes were recorded in November. The U.S. Geological Survey says a 3.7 magnitude earthquake happened at 3:23 a.m. Monday and was centered about 11 miles north-northeast of Mineral Wells. The Parker County Sheriff’s Office did not immediate have any reports of damage or injuries. Other recent minor earthquakes happened in the Reno and Azle (AY’-zil) areas, about 20 miles northeast of Fort Worth. –WFAA

Oklahoma rattled by 4.5 tremor: A magnitude-4.5 earthquake in central Oklahoma shook residents Saturday, just weeks after the two-year anniversary of the strongest earthquake ever recorded in the Sooner state, and was followed by two smaller temblors later in the day. The shaking is increasingly commonplace in the state, so after the initial surprise, customers at a central Oklahoma restaurant near the epicenter of the first quake returned their attention to an in-state college football rivalry game. Marty Doepke, general manager of Pops Restaurant in Arcadia, near the epicenter of the first quake, said there was no damage at the restaurant that’s known for its selection of some 600 soft drinks — hundreds of which are displayed in individual bottles along shelves. “It shook a bit, that’s for sure. Everybody just kind of stopped and looked around,” Doepke said. “Everybody almost automatically knew what it was and then went back to watching the Bedlam game” — the Oklahoma State-Oklahoma football game.

The earthquake was centered near Arcadia, about 14 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, and was about 5 miles deep, the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The agency reported that temblor was followed by a magnitude-2.8 earthquake at 1:26 p.m. about 10 miles northeast of Oklahoma City and a magnitude-3.1 tremor at 5:58 p.m. about 6 miles northeast of the city. Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management spokeswoman Keli Cain said no injuries or damage were reported from any of the quakes. Oklahoma is crisscrossed with fault lines that generate frequent small earthquakes, most too weak to be felt. But after decades of limited seismic activity in the region, earthquakes have become more common in the last several years. The strongest earthquake on record in Oklahoma was a magnitude-5.6 earthquake on Nov. 5, 2011. That time, the football stadium in Stillwater, about 70 miles north of Oklahoma City, started shaking just after OSU defeated No. 17 Kansas State and left ESPN sports anchor Kirk Herbstreit wide-eyed during a postgame telecast. –ABC