MEDFORD, Okla. — A magnitude 4.5 earthquake was felt Friday afternoon in Green Country.
The earthquake was centered near Medford, which is north of Enid in Grant County, about 3:30 p.m.
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission issued a directive in the evening ordering three wastewater disposal wells to stop operations until further notice.
The OCC says the temblor occurred within the 15,000-square mile earthquake Area of Interest (AOI), where disposal into the Arbuckle formation has been drastically reduced as part of the earthquake mitigation effort by the agency.
"Researchers are in broad agreement that the huge increase of disposal of oil and gas wastewater into the Arbuckle formation within the AOI starting in about 2013 can be linked to earthquake activity that peaked in 2016 and has since been declining, largely as a result of OCC mitigation measures," a spokesperson said in the release.
We're hearing from plenty of residents who felt the earthquake, which happened shortly at 3:33 p.m.
#okquake details to be released soon. pic.twitter.com/pA8kFhJpxk
— Mike Collier (@MikeCollierWX) May 17, 2019
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Download our free app for Apple and Android and Kindle devices.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox. Select from these options: Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines and Daily Forecasts.
