The 4.3 magnitude earthquake that shook residents in Harper, Kan. for a good seven seconds Thursday afternoon, was the talk of the small town throughout the rest of day.
The 911 center received 30 calls in 30 minutes. It’s sole dispatcher had to put several curious people on hold.
“All of our lines were lit up, plus we had radio traffic that was asking about the earthquake as well,” said Harper Co. 911 Dir. Patricia Glover.
Although no injuries or major damage was reported, the earthquake is one of biggest this region of the country has experienced so far this year.
“You heard a loud bang and everything just kept moving. It didn’t stop,” said Allan Longbine.
At his auto repair shop nine miles away in Anthony, mechanics were fixing a truck when the rumbling started at 1:02 p.m.
“We had a pick up on the lift and the guys– it started shaking on the lift–so they come back here because we didn’t have any tires on it,” Longbine said. “If it fell off the lift, we was gonna have problems. But it stayed on. This time.”
Longbine says earthquakes are now a weekly occurrence in southern Kansas. Thursday’s is the biggest one he’s felt so far.
He’s thankful his business wasn’t damaged and his employees weren’t hurt, but he’s worried if the earthquakes continue, he might have to purchase earthquake insurance down the road.
“I don’t know, ” Longbine said. “It could get to the point where we have to. But I hope not. I don’t know what’s doing it, but it sure is happening more and more all the time.”
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A 4.3 earthquake shook a large portion of Kansas and Oklahoma this afternoon.
The United States Geological Survey says the earthquake was centered almost seven miles east-southeast of Harper, Kansas. It was originally reported as a 4.4, but was downgraded slightly.
Harper County Emergency Management said there has been minor damage consisting of small cracks in ceilings, as well as items falling off of walls and shelves. No significant damage has been reported.
On Facebook, David L. Slaughter wrote from Harper, “past quakes have usually just rumbled through the town (vibrating the house) in less than a second. This one lasted nearly 5 seconds. Our house shook from its foundations upward, knocking stuff off shelves in the process.”
People from Oklahoma City to Salina reported feeling the earthquake.
Thirty minutes later at 1:35 p.m., another quake was reported just over four miles southeast of Harper. Then, at 5:50 p.m., a 3.1 hit the same area.
Harper County Emergency Management said there have been subsequent smaller quakes since then.
This is a map of earthquake locations in Harper County since 1997, courtesy of Melinda McCurley, Harper County GIS. It shows one earthquake in 1997, 5 in 2013 and 60 so far this year.
If inside during an earthquake, emergency management recommends you drop to the floor, cover yourself with a structurally sound object such as a table or desk and to hold on until the shaking stops.
More information:
www.dropcoverholdon.org/
www.redcross.org/prepare/disaster/earthquake
KAKE’s Annette Lawless is working on a report. If you have damage or security video when the quake hit let us know at news@kake.com or (316) 946-1331.
Did you feel the quake? Report it by clicking here.