The modern Kansas earthquake era looks to be ending … mostly

Wastewater injections from oil and gas wells put pressure on ancient faults over the past five years, but trend is declining.

By

State News

February 20, 2020 - 10:05 AM

A look at earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 2.0 that were recorded in Kansas in 2019. Photo by KANSAS GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

WICHITA, Kansas — On Aug. 16, the second day of the school year, students in the Burrton district felt the shake of a 4.2 magnitude earthquake. They knew exactly what to do: hide under their desks until it stopped.

It was a fairly new procedure, as the district, which is halfway between Hutchinson and Wichita, hadn’t conducted its first drill until the end of the 2018-19 school year.

“They just adapted beautifully,” said Joan Simoneau, the district’s superintendent. “We couldn’t have asked for a better crisis situation, especially on the second day of school.”

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