WICHITA, Kan., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- A 4.8-magnitude earthquake struck parts of southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma Wednesday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The temblor hit at 3:40 p.m. near Conway Springs, some 33 miles south of Wichita, and was felt as far away as North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Most of the damage was centered in Milan, a town of 80 people southwest of Conway Springs. The old post office and a brick schoolhouse, used as a community center, both sustained structural damage.
Wednesday's quake comes on the heels of a magnitude 2.6 shaker on Tuesday, centered about 30 miles away in Anthony, Kansas.
The number and intensity of earthquakes has jumped in Oklahoma and the surrounding areas in recent years. In fact, there have been more earthquakes in Sooner State this year than in California, a trend geologists say is extremely troubling.
Geologists believe the cause is the injection of wastewater into deep wells by the oil and gas industry, a method of disposal often used in fracking, which can destabilize dormant faults and increase seismic activity.
"These quakes tend to be shallower," USGS Geophysicist Elizabeth Cochran told Accuweather in July. "At this point, we do not think this is a natural variation."
The largest earthquake in Oklahoma in the past century, a 5.6-magnitude temblor in November 2011, was the strongest quake connected to injection.
