Did you wake up to the feel of your house gently shaking early last Thursday morning? If so, you weren’t imagining things.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), a magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck at approximately 5:21 a.m. on Thursday, July 23, with its epicenter about 24 miles south-southeast of Spearman, Texas. While the quake originated in the Texas Panhandle, its depth was just 3.5 miles beneath the surface.
Because the earthquake was so shallow, the shaking traveled much farther than many earthquakes of similar magnitude. Seismic waves moved efficiently through the hard rock beneath the Southern Plains, allowing residents across western and northwestern Oklahoma, and even parts of the Oklahoma City metro, to feel the tremors.
Communities as far as Woodward, Elk City, Cordell, and surrounding areas reported feeling the earthquake to the USGS Earthquake Map and Data Source.
While no significant damage or injuries were immediately reported, the event served as a reminder that earthquakes occurring in neighboring states can still be felt across Oklahoma.