= new reply since forum marked as read
http://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2014/02/14/oklahomas-earthquake-swarm-in-one-chart/
Also, from the US Geological Survey (emphasis mine):
The U.S. Geological Survey and Oklahoma Geological Survey are conducting collaborative research quantifying the changes in earthquake rate in the Oklahoma City region, assessing the implications of this swarm for large-earthquake hazard, and evaluating possible links between these earthquakes and wastewater disposal related to oil and gas production activities in the region.
Studies show one to three magnitude 3.0 earthquakes or larger occurred yearly from 1975 to 2008, while the average grew to around 40 earthquakes per year from 2009 to mid-2013.
"We've statistically analyzed the recent earthquake rate changes and found that they do not seem to be due to typical, random fluctuations in natural seismicity rates," said Bill Leith, USGS seismologist. "These results suggest that significant changes in both the background rate of events and earthquake triggering properties needed to have occurred in order to explain the increases in seismicity. This is in contrast to what is typically observed when modeling natural earthquake swarms."
The analysis suggests that a contributing factor to the increase in earthquakes triggers may be from activities such as wastewater disposal--a phenomenon known as injection-induced seismicity. The OGS has examined the behavior of the seismicity through the state assessing the optimal fault orientations and stresses within the region of increased seismicity, particularly the unique behavior of the Jones swarm just east of Oklahoma City. The USGS and OGS are now focusing on determining whether evidence exists for such triggering, which is widely viewed as being demonstrated in recent years in Arkansas, Ohio and Colorado
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3710&from=rss#.U0EG0sfrY3Z
I grew up in Oklahoma and seriously, tornadoes AND earthquakes? That's a little much.
Thankfully, it hasn't come to that point of using it, but, it's there!
BTW, we had tornado watches on Friday. It's gonna be a long summer!
Y'all stay safe! When we were kids, my mom weighed about 110 pounds, but she could throw three kids at once into the master bathroom in less than one second at the slightest hint of a tornado.
I have pillows, a radio, a flashlight, and getting helmets. I just have to round up puppies and a cat, but I can do it surprisingly fast. I think this year, I will teach them to go there when I use a whistle. We'll see.
Hope the weather there is treating y'all well!
And helmets are a great idea. Back in my day, we didn't wear helmets while bicycling, skiing or waiting out a tornado!
Weather is beautiful today. Should be low 70s by 3 p.m. Should I have an unexpected surge of ambition, it will be a great afternoon to do laundry and hang it on the line to dry in the sun.
Copperheads, cottonmouths and rattlesnakes. 
From the yahoo news article:
"The analysis suggests that a contributing factor to the increase in earthquakes triggers may be from activities such as wastewater disposal--a phenomenon known as injection-induced seismicity."
In other words, fracking.
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http://time.com/8126/oklahoma-wonders-why-the-earth-is-shaking/
“It’s incredibly unusual,” said Austin Holland, a research seismologist with the Oklahoma Geologic Survey. “We’ve had swarms that are similar in nature but I don’t think we’ve had one with quite the numbers we’ve had.”
State authorities are now trying to get the bottom of the unusual seismic activity. Holland is amassing resources and data to figure out what might be to blame, and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, which oversees the oil and gas industry, has already proposed new testing and monitoring requirements for wells injected with drilling wastewater, which some have blamed for the increase in earthquakes. Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking“, involving explosions being set off underground, has also been blamed by some for the swarm.
Spent drilling water injected back into the ground for storage at high pressure, some scientists believe, may be forcing fault lines under pressure to shift. Katie Keranen, a geophysics professor at Cornell, says “the evidence is strong” that the earthquakes are caused by fracking and wastewater disposal, both of which have become more frequent amid today’s boom in oil and gas drilling.
But others scoff at the notion that fracking might be connected to seismic activity. “I work with geologists and petroleum engineers on a daily basis and they are of the opinion that [fracking] is not causing the earthquakes,” said Eric King, an attorney who works with the oil and gas industry, comparing the earthquake swarm to climate fluctuations. “We didn’t have cold weather in Oklahoma for a lot of years but we’re having it this year,” he said."
