Earthquake Hazards

Distant wastewater disposal wells likely induced the third largest earthquake in recent Oklahoma record, the Feb. 13, 2016, magnitude 5.1 event roughly 32 kilometers northwest of Fairview, Oklahoma. These findings from the U.S. Geological Survey are available in the online edition of Geophysical Research Letters.

True or false? The same size earthquake will cause damage over a larger area in the West than the East.

It’s not flirting for submarines, but this week’s EarthWord does feature the ocean...

A possible explosion of magnitude 5.3 occurred in North Korea on September 9, 2016 at 00:30:01 UTC (9:00 am local time).

A team of USGS scientists spent 10 days in the wilderness, exploring one of the fastest-moving faults in America

MEDIA ADVISORY: Faculty and students from California State University, East Bay, U.S. Geological Survey scientists, and community volunteers are conducting an experiment to visualize the subsurface in and around the Hayward Fault and measure how the ground in different neighborhoods responds to earthquake shaking.

Revisions follow standard USGS re-analysis

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck in Oklahoma on September 3, 2016 at 12:02:44 UTC (7:02 am local time). 

September is National Preparedness Month, a time to highlight the resources available to help you and your loved ones stay as safe as possible. 

New research from the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Colorado shows actions taken by drillers and regulators can lessen risk in the case of earthquakes likely caused by the injection of industrial wastewater deep underground.

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck central Italy on 24 Aug 2016 at  03:36 a.m. local time (01:36 a.m. UTC)