A 3.8-magnitude earthquake struck Leicester, England, on Wednesday.
According to the US Geological Survey, the quake hit just before 11 p.m. local time.
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AP update: Kansas geologists ask for more funding amid earthquake spike
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Geological Survey told lawmakers Monday that it needs more money to investigate and monitor an unprecedented spike in earthquakes in the state.
Agency Director Rex Buchanan told the House Energy and Environment Committee that most of theearthquakes have not been felt on the surface and collectively have done minimal damage but they have been stronger and more frequent than in any other time in recorded Kansas history.
The agency has recorded 206 earthquakes since Jan. 1, 2013, after detecting just five over the previous 10 years, according to its website. The strongest ever recorded earthquake in Kansas — a 4.9-magnitude quake near Milan in Sumner County — struck in November.
Buchanan said his agency and the U.S. Geological Survey are still studying the problem, but their “working hypothesis” is that there is a relation between the earthquakes and the practice of injecting wastewater into underground wells. This technique is used as a part of several mining processes, including hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking.
Fracking is used to get at previously unreachable oil and natural gas deposits. However, some activists have criticized the practice as excessively harmful to the environment.
“I think folks do see a correlation between an increased number and volume of disposal wells in southeast Kansas and seismic activity. It’s reasonable to say that that’s where we’re going, and that’s where the attention is going at this point,” Buchanan said.
He added that new geological studies on the issue are being published on an “almost weekly” basis and one appears to have determined a direct link between fracking and earthquakes in Ohio.
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