By JORDAN GREEN, Editor-in-Chief
Several Northwestern students said they felt a 4.5-magnitude earthquake that rocked parts of northern Oklahoma and southern Kansas on Monday.
The quake occurred at 11:10 a.m. and originated roughly four miles northwest of Medford in Grant County, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Medford is 52 miles east of Alva.
Northwestern students said they were caught off guard by the sudden shaking.
Music major Jeff Cher-Aime was in Ryerson Hall when the quake hit.
“The lockers started making a little noise from them rumbling,” Cher-Aime said. “I thought, maybe it’s somebody cleaning something. I went into Professor Weast’s office, and I asked her assistant. She’s like, ‘No, the building was shaking.’ I asked if it was a common occurrence, and she said, ‘Nope.’”
Agriculture major Evan Wahpekeche was on the third floor of Vinson Hall when the quake began.
“I was like … [what] is shaking the building and looked outside to see no wind,” Wahpekeche said. “Then it started shaking harder, and then boom, it just stopped.”
Education major Autumn Arencibia was off campus when the quake came.
“I was at home, and I was getting ready to watch a show,” Arencibia said. “I noticed a slight shaking under my feet. I’ve been in a few earthquakes, so I know what they feel like. And I only felt it if I stood still.”
Mass communication major Jara Reeder said she was working at a law office in downtown Alva that used to be a funeral home. She was slightly spooked by the quake.
“It sounded like someone was walking up through the office and up the stairs at the same time,” she said. “I thought it was a ghost.”
The Oklahoma Corporation Commission is investigating the quake. Some Oklahoma quakes have been attributed to the use of wastewater disposal wells, which inject water used in oilfield work into the ground and are said to induce seismic activity. In February 2021, the commission shut down a well in Grant County after a 4.2-magnitude earthquake.
No damage stemming from the Monday quake was immediately reported by the survey office.