A night of one earthquake after another. It’s what happened Wednesday night and Thursday morning in northern Oklahoma around the cities of Fairview and Alva. Seventeen earthquakes. The strongest was 4.8 magnitude and hit around 10:30 p.m. and was quickly followed by a 4.3 magnitude quake.
“I was asleep and it took me straight up out of bed,” said a dispatcher at the Grant County Sheriff’s office located in the courthouse in Fairview. “Been the strongest we’ve had.”
The 4.8 quake hit about 10:26 p.m. and was followed within a few minutes by a 4.3 magnitude quake.
“Lot of rattling. It shook the courthouse and this is a granite building,” said the dispatcher who chose to remain anonymous. “One or two minutes it did this. It is a very long rumble and really got the people’s attention.”
But so far, no major reports of damage were received at the Sheriff’s office.
The first quake to hit Fairview was initially recorded as a 4.7 magnitude quake, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was quickly followed by a 4.8 magnitude. Numerous other quakes hit in the area including at least three with epicenters around Alva and anged in magnitude from 2.9 to 3.4.
Fairview received another long and loud rumble a few hours later when a 4.0 magnitude quake in the area again, according to the USGS.
Listen to Jerry Bohnen’s early-morning interview with the dispatcher.
