Saturday, Sept. 3, at just a little after 7 a.m., a 5.6-magnitude earthquake with an epicenter near Pawnee, Okla., was felt from Tennessee to Texas. In Eureka Springs, some people felt it. And others, already awake, didn’t notice a thing.
“I was asleep and it woke me up,” said Margo Pirkle, who lives in Eureka Springs. “The house was shaking. It seemed like there was a boom or something. I went back to sleep and later, when I woke up, I thought it was a dream. Then I talked to my neighbor and she had felt it. She said all the squirrels were coming out of the trees and running down the hill. The animals were affected.”
June Hegedus, who lives on Beaver Lake, was sitting in a lounge chair reading when the earthquake hit.
“It started vibrating,” Hegedus said. “The whole house was shaking. There was the noise of rumbling. It was scary.”
At Victoria Woods, people were shaken enough that some residents gathered outside. Others were annoyed to have their slumber interrupted.
“I was mad because I wanted to sleep in,” said Natalie Mannering. “At first I thought it was some kind of neighborhood ruckus, until I was awake enough to appreciate how strong it was. We really need to ban fracking now!”
Mannering was referring to scientific reports linking the deep-well injection of wastewater from fracking operations to earthquakes. After the earthquake, the State of Oklahoma ordered the closure of 35 injection wells in the area near the quake. Deep-well injection of wastes in that region had earlier been limited after a similar earthquake in November 2011.
Larry Lowman, an organic grower who lives in southern Carroll County, heard a deep rumbling sound, which seemed to emanate from the roof or upstairs, initially startling him into wondering if there was a large creature or someone walking vigorously on the roof or second floor. That was at 7:04 a.m. Acorns started falling on the roof, and the crows started calling.
“It was all audio for me,” Lowman said. “I have three large stained glass panels suspended from wires. When I noticed they were swinging back and forth, I realized that it was an earthquake. I brought up the AP newswire feed on my computer, and got the first bulletin at about 7:20 a.m. confirming it was a large earthquake in the Midwest. Then, a few minutes later, they confirmed it was another Oklahoma quake.
“The scientists have reported this quake was virtually identical in intensity with another which occurred just a few years ago, which we also felt here in Carroll County. Both of these quakes represent the two largest quakes ever recorded in Oklahoma. Almost beyond a shadow of a doubt, it was caused by groundwater injection of waste from fracking. Scientists have weighed in on the issue. I think we created this problem.”
Lowman used to be an Arkansas State Park naturalist in northeastern Arkansas, where there is high earthquake danger due to the location near the New Madrid fault line. One of his most popular presentations was about earthquakes. He said he would have been more concerned about the quake this past weekend if it had come from near Memphis because there is potential for huge damages if there is a New Madrid earthquake.
The biggest earthquakes in recorded history in the continental U.S. were the 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes. Those earthquakes rang church bells from Charleston, S.C., to Washington, D.C. John James Audubon was in the area during the earthquakes, and reported seeing the ground roll like an ocean wave.
Another earthquake of that size would be devastating.
“If there was a major earthquake on the New Madrid fault zone, there would be horrendous damage from Memphis to St. Louis,” Lowman said. “Jonesboro would be destroyed. There would be no roads, no bridges and buildings would be leveled. We would feel it here, but there would be no major damage because the shock waves would be attenuated by the Ozark Plateau.”
One reason there wasn’t more damage in 1811-1812 is that there had not yet been very much construction in the U.S. What buildings existed were primarily log cabins, which Lowman said can withstand the shaking of an earthquake surprisingly well.
“Log cabins can withstand the up-and-down shaking, and the side-to-side shaking,” Lowman said. “Log cabins are safer in earthquakes than most modern buildings.”
Lowman said there are old fault zones in the Ozarks, but none that are of major concern.
Few people in the area have earthquake insurance, according to a local insurer. It isn’t very expensive, but most people don’t think the risk is high enough to pay extra. Lowman said he had earthquake insurance on his property when he lived in northeastern Arkansas, but doesn’t have it at his home in Carroll County.
Chris McClung, president of Bare & Swett Agency, Inc., in Eureka Springs, said he personally carries earthquake insurance.
“It is an option for people,” McClung said. “It is a personal preference. Not all insurance companies offer earthquake, but some do. As a general rule, when we are using a company that does offer it, we will let the customer know it’s available. The cost will vary based on the value of the structure. Carroll County is a low-hazard area for earthquakes so, as a general rule, rates are not as high here as in northeast Arkansas where counties are in close proximity to the New Madrid earthquake fault.”
McClung felt the earthquake. At first he thought it was a clap of thunder.
“I jumped up out of bed and saw the skies were clear,” he said. “I realized we had just felt an earthquake.”