Earthquake Rattles Southern Kansas

A third earthquake has shaken rural southern Kansas, less than a week after a panel commissioned by Gov. Sam Brownback found there isn’t enough evidence to link recent quakes to oil and gas exploration in the region.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports the latest quake with a 4.4 magnitude struck just after 1 p.m. Thursday about seven miles southeast of Harper. The temblor could be felt as far away as Wichita.

Two other quakes also shook the Harper area this week, with one measuring 3.3 and the other 4.1 on the Richter scale.

Some experts have blamed the gas and oil industry’s practice of hydraulic fracturing for an uptick in earthquakes in Kansas. But Brownback’s task force found there’s not enough information to determine the cause and recommended more monitoring.