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Earthquake Hazard Map Includes Human-Caused Quakes For First Time

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The U.S. Geological Survey this week released a new earthquake hazard map that, for the first time, includes quakes resulting from man-made causes, rather than natural causes. Oklahoma tops the list of the states most vulnerable to human-induced quakes. Parts of it are now as earthquake-prone as California. Here & Now's Meghna Chakrabarti talks with Mark Petersen, chief of the USGS National Seismic Hazard Mapping Project, about the most seismically active states.

USGS map displaying intensity of potential ground shaking from natural and human-induced earthquakes. There is a small chance (one percent) that ground shaking intensity will occur at this level or higher. There is a greater chance (99 percent) that ground shaking will be lower than what is displayed in these maps.
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USGS map displaying 21 areas impacted by induced earthquakes as well as the location of fluid injection wells that have and have not been associated with earthquakes.
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Guest

  • Mark Petersen, chief of the USGS National Seismic Hazard Mapping Project.

This segment aired on March 29, 2016.

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