Oil well (illustration)
Oil well (illustration)Thinkstock

A 5.6 magnitude earthquake centered in Oklahoma hit the Midwest US from Nebraska to North Texas on Saturday.

The quake ties the record of the largest magnitude earthquake to hit the area.

The earthquake comes just several days after a 3.2 magnitude quake hit the same spot.

Pawnee County of Oklahoma saw damage to three homes, with a resident of one of the houses suffering minor injuries. The homeowner was treated at the hospital, according to Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin.

Scientific studies have linked the increase in magnitude 3-or-greater earthquakes in Oklahoma over the past several years to the practice of disposing of wastewater from oil drilling deep underground. As a result, state regulators have limited wastewater disposal in areas of Oklahoma most likely to see a serious earthquake.

After this latest earthquake, Governor Mary Fallin called to completely shut down all wastewater disposal wells “within 5 miles of a 10-mile section of the fault in question […] within 7 days” as a safety precaution.