Midwest earthquake – update 11-a.m. 9/3/16
September 3rd, 2016 by Ric Hanson
A Pawnee, OK., business owner says the 5.6 magnitude earthquake shook his house “like a rubber band” and knocked items off cabinets and broke glass. Furniture store owner Lee Wills told The Associated Press he was awake when the quake struck at 7:02 a.m. Saturday and first thought it was a thunderstorm. But then his home, which is about 2½ miles outside of town, started shaking. Wills said buildings in the downtown area are cracked and sandstone facing on some buildings fell and described the scene as “a mess.” The quake was felt as far away as Nebraska and Iowa.
The Pawnee County emergency management director says no injuries have been reported and no buildings have collapsed following a magnitude 5.6 earthquake that ties a 2011 temblor for the strongest in Oklahoma history. Mark Randell said the Saturday morning quake did cause cracks and damages to city buildings, some of which date to the early 1900s.
The U.S. Geological Survey reports the quake struck at 7:02 a.m. about nine miles northwest of Pawnee, a town of about 2,200 about 70 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. The U.S.G.S. also reports a 3.6 magnitude aftershock in the same area at 7:58 a.m.