Here's the U.S. Earthquake Forecast, Now Including the Quakes We Cause

[Purveyor]

Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arkansas face the highest risk.

By Eric Roston

A cluster of central states surrounding Oklahoma faces the highest risk of earthquakes induced by human activities "such as fluid injection or extraction," according to a short-term seismic forecast by the U.S. Geological Survey.

The report, which for the first time includes quakes that may be linked to oil and gas production, comes after an alarming six-year rise in the incidence of quakes throughout the central and eastern U.S. There, some seven million people, concentrated near Oklahoma City and Dallas-Fort Worth, face an increased risk, including in pockets that could see quakes as damaging as those that typically occur in California.

The states facing the highest risk from human-induced quakes are, in order, Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arkansas, according to the report, published Monday. The largest populations at risk live in Texas and Oklahoma.



Quakes with a magnitude greater than 3 on the 10-point Richter scale numbered in the hundreds last year, up from an average of 24 between 1973 and 2008. Many have been linked to the underground storage of water related to energy production.

A recent journal study by scientists with the USGS concluded that water injection wells with the highest rates, greater than 300,000 barrels per month, are more frequently associated with quakes than lower-volume wells, and that managing these injection rates may be a good way to reduce quake risk.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-28/u-s-quake-forecast-includes-human-induced-temblors-for-first-time

[ViseGrip]

1. Everyone here knows Bernie is against fracking, right?

[Herman4747]

2. Everyone here knows Hillary exports fracking, right?

Link: How Hillary Clinton's State Department Sold Fracking to the World

[Mojorabbit]

3. Cool! Glad they are adding the human caused quakes to forecast! nt