A 5.6 magnitude earthquake, described as the strongest recorded in years, struck the US state of Oklahoma just after 7am on Saturday morning.
The epicenter of the quake was in the north of the state, 14km (8.7 miles) northwest of the town of Pawnee, which has a population of over 2,000 people, was recorded at a shallow depth of 4.1 miles (6.6 km), according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
RT reports:
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There have been no immediate reports of casualties or damage in the Midwest state.
Saturday’s tremors were the strongest in years in the area, where the landscape is largely flat as it is part of the Great Plains.
Saying that the depth of the epicenter was “fairly shallow,” the USGS warned that such earthquakes “convey more energy to the land surface.”
Earthquakes w/shallow focus depths convey more energy to the land surface. For comparison, the recent quakes in Italy started @ 10 Km depth.
— USGS in Oklahoma (@USGS_Oklahoma) September 3, 2016
The tremors on Saturday were so strong that they were reportedly felt hundreds of miles outside of the state.
Getting reports of the #earthquake being felt as far south as Austin, TX and as far north as Omaha, NE & Des Moines, IA. That’s ~750 miles!
— Brian James (@BrianJamesNBC5) September 3, 2016
The earthquake is now tied with the 2011 Oklahoma 5.6 magnitude quake, which was the most powerful ever recorded in the state, according to the USGS.
Niamh Harris