Large Earthquakes Continue To Rattle Cushing Residents

Another big earthquake rocked Cushing over the weekend and people across town are saying these quakes are happening far too often.

Monday, October 12th 2015, 11:23 pm

By: News 9


Another big earthquake rocked Cushing over the weekend and people across town are saying these quakes are happening far too often.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission said it has already shut down suspect injection wells, but the quakes continue.

For many people who live in and around Cushing, this weekend's 4.5-magnitude earthquake was the strongest they've ever felt.

The question now, with the suspected wells capped, is what caused it?

“It was a tremendous bounce in town, all over this area. Shook and rattled and made a lot of sound,” said Joe Naifeh, owner Naifeh’s Deli and Grill.

“We weren’t very busy, we were just standing there talking, and felt it,” employee Brianna Tuoo said.

There's a huge uptick in earthquakes, primarily in Cushing.

“The last year and a half, we’ve had several earthquakes,” Naifeh said.

Naifeh runs Naifeh's Deli and Grill in town. He and his workers are making the best of the recent quakes.

“We decided, well OK, we’re gonna have ‘quake shakes,’” Naifeh said.

They're back by popular demand.

“Crushed Oreos as our soil, and we put a little chocolate syrup in it for the oil,” Naifeh said.  

“We had very strong magnitude and high frequency,” said Matt Skinner of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.  

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission said the most concerning areas over the weekend were Cushing, Medford and Perry.

“This past weekend was certainly one of the worst we’ve seen in terms of magnitude,” Skinner said.

And in September, Skinner said the Commission took action on six wells all in the Cushing area, all near the epicenter of this weekend's big quake.

9/22/2015 Related Story: Corporate Commission Turned Away 5 Disposal Well Applications

“And three were shut down and three cut back on their volume,” he said.

But he said that doesn't mean an instant turnoff.

“It is very rare to be able to hit off and earthquake activity will stop even if you’ve done the right thing it can take a long time,” Skinner said.

“You’re like 'how much more is my house going to take before it comes down?'” customer Paul Lewis said. “This is getting ridiculous.”

“That particular 4.5 one was pretty intense,” Naifeh said.  

Starting Tuesday morning, News 9 was told the Oklahoma Corporation Commission will immediately began looking at other options.

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