Oklahoma’s earthquakes are threatening a strategic crude oil storage depot, and the state’s regulators are shutting down some disposal wells in response. That’s the latest in a string of developments as Oklahoma tries to slow down an explosion of earthquakes that seismologists blame on the injection of wastewater from oil exploration.
Michael Corey
Senior Data Editor
Michael Corey is a former senior data editor. He led a team of data journalists who seek to distill large datasets into compelling and easily understandable stories using the tools of journalism, statistics and programming. His specialties include mapping, the U.S.-Mexico border, scientific data and working with remote sensing. Corey's work has been honored with an Online Journalism Award, an Emmy Award, a Polk Award, an IRE Medal and other national awards. He previously worked for the Des Moines Register and graduated from Drake University.
Posted inCriminal Justice, Left for Dead
Searchable database: The Lost & The Found
Federal data tracks thousands of unsolved missing persons cases and unidentified bodies. Use our Web tool to search for potential matches.
Posted inInside the Newsroom
Turn your data into sound using our new MIDITime library
We’ve built a Python library called MIDITime for data sonification, which we hope others will find useful. It’s released publicly on our GitHub page and via pip.
Posted inEnvironment, Oil and Mining
Man-made earthquakes: Fact or fiction?
Earthquakes in Oklahoma used to be something of a rarity, but a few years ago, that began to change. What’s going on? This short video explains why this is happening across the U.S. and who scientists think the culprits are.
Posted inEnvironment, Oil and Mining
Oklahoma’s man-made earthquakes
Join reporters as they hop in a car and drive toward the epicenter of two earthquakes that had just struck near a small Oklahoma town, to see the after-effects and talk to the people who live in the area.
Posted inEnvironment, Oil and Mining
Listen to the music of seismic activity in Oklahoma
Reveal took 10 years of Oklahoma earthquake data, translated it into MIDI notes, and ran those notes through a synthesizer to add more musicality. Hear more in our June episode.
Posted inEnvironment
Watch Oklahoma’s earthquake explosion
Until 2009, earthquakes that people could feel were rare in Oklahoma. But by 2014, Oklahoma had more than three times as many earthquakes as California.
Posted inEnvironment, Oil and Mining
Earthquake hazard forecasts upgraded for Oklahoma, 7 other states
The U.S. Geological Survey is planning to significantly upgrade its forecasts of seismic hazards in places such as Oklahoma that have seen dramatic increases in earthquakes since 2009.
Posted inEnvironment, Oil and Mining
Oklahoma unveils new wastewater restrictions as quakes keep coming
Oklahoma officials are beefing up their regulation of the injection of wastewater from oil and gas into deep layers of rock that scientists blame for an explosion of earthquakes.
Posted inEnvironment, Oil and Mining
Hey, California: Oklahoma had 3 times as many earthquakes in 2014
Earthquakes are synonymous with California to most Americans, but other states are seeing more earthquakes likely triggered by human activity.