Blackwell reacts to enormous 4.5 earthquake

A 4.5-magnitude earthquake rattled northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas on Monday, prompting an investigation from state officials.

The quake occurred at 11:10 a.m. and originated roughly four miles northwest of Medford in Grant County, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It occurred at a depth of nearly five miles.

Thousands of people from Wichita, Kansas, to Oklahoma City reported feeling the quake, including several Kay County residents.

Red Rock resident Alice Kelly was home when the quake struck.

“The quake made my lights sway, and the house was vibrating,” she said Monday. “My dogs sensed it first and started barking before the shaking began. Sometimes I ask myself, ‘Is that an earthquake?’ There was no doubt about it today.

Blackwell High School English teacher Tara Greer said: “Teaching through an earthquake before a winter storm during a three-year pandemic – just another day at BHS.”

Reba Newton and other Blackwellites said the temblor shook dining ware and other objects in their homes. Lesley Riddle added: “We felt it here just west of the golf course. My elephant ears got all the dust shaken off.”

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is investigating the quake. Since 2015, some Oklahoma earthquakes have been attributed to the use of wastewater disposal wells, which inject water used in oilfield work into the ground and are said to induce seismic activity. In February 2021, the commission shut down a well near Manchester in Grant County after a 4.2-magnitude earthquake. 

No damage stemming from the Monday quake was immediately reported by the survey office.