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The U.S.
Geological Survey said the quake, initially reported as a
magnitude 4.6, struck at 4:40 p.m. at a shallow depth of 4.9
miles (8 km) with the epicenter 9 miles (15 km), north-northwest
of Medford. There were no immediate reports of major damage or
injuries.
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck northern Oklahoma early on
Thursday, rattling residents out of their beds and shaking the
ground across a 100-mile (160-km) radius that included the city
of Tulsa and the state of Kansas.
The state's oil and gas regulator, the Oklahoma Corporation
Commission (OCC), moved within hours on Thursday to implement
additional curbs on the use of saltwater disposal wells that
scientists have linked to a sharp rise in seismic activity in
the state.
Saltwater, a normal byproduct of oil and gas extraction work
that boomed after 2009 following improvements in hydraulic
fracturing and horizontal drilling, is injected into deep
disposal wells and underground caverns.
The quakes come about a month after an earthquake with a
magnitude of 4.5 struck near the U.S. crude oil hub of Cushing,
Oklahoma.
That quake occurred just days after regulators imposed new rules
to limit the use of saltwater disposal wells in a bid to prevent
temblors in the area. It also implemented additional measures
after that quake.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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