Magnitude 5.0 quake causes damage in central Oklahoma

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck central Oklahoma on Sunday night, registering as the fourth-strongest temblor to hit the state.

The 7:44 p.m. CST quake was centered about one mile west of Cushing, 50 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake was initially reported as being magnitude 5.3, and was felt across the state and as far away as Dallas and Little Rock.

Police in Cushing say no injuries have been reported, but there has been "significant damage" to buildings, NewsOK reports. Cushing has a population of 7,900, and is home to the largest commercial oil storage hub in the United States. The strongest earthquake to shake the state was a 5.8 in Pawnee on Sept. 3, and scientists link an increase in quakes in Oklahoma to fracking, the process of drilling into the earth and injecting fluid at a high pressure to release the gas inside.

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