The Jacket Journal

While many Oklahomans are familiar with the outburst of tremors, many in the younger generation are experiencing a new phenomenon: earthquakes. The state itself has experienced 353 earthquakes since the decade started, forty-three of which occurred in 2009 alone. As for 2010, the New Year has brought six tremors.

So far, the strongest of the six was a 4.0 magnitude, felt Friday, January 15 by the students of CHS and the surrounding areas. Both earthquakes experienced on Friday occurred in the High School’s first period. Freshman Kylee Hicks replied “I really had no idea what was going on until everyone around me started saying ‘Did you feel that?’; that’s when I knew it must have been an earthquake.”

These quakes are just a small portion of Oklahoma’s seismic history. The state averages fifty earthquakes a year, though many don’t reach the surface and so are unfelt. The strongest quake ever to originate in Oklahoma was one of a 5.5 magnitude that took place on April 9, 1952 in Canadian County. This earthquake spurred from the Nemaha fault line near El Reno.

Most tremors recently documented in Oklahoma are spurring from around Jones, due to the Meers fault line that runs through it. This is likely the cause for the earthquakes Choctaw has experienced.

The gradual incline in the number of earthquakes, along with their increasing magnitudes, is reason for the alarm of many Oklahomans. However, some feel that the tremors are just “pressure releasers”, a way to avoid dealing with a stronger magnitude earthquake. Geologists studying the earthquakes say that there is no reason for alarm. Still, many Oklahomans feel the need to protect their homes, their belongings, and themselves. They are taking precautions including acquiring earthquake insurance and understanding the terms and procedures for the earthquakes.

The news of the earthquake in Haiti also has Oklahomans on edge. The 7.0 magnitude quake spurred from around the capital, Port-au-Prince, devastating the surrounding areas and taking, so far, approximately 200,000 lives. While geologists say that the quake is not related to the ones in Oklahoma, residents of our state are still wary of the vibrations.