Pittsburg, Oklahoma Residents Talk About Earthquake Experience

Mother Nature made her presence felt in Oklahoma early Tuesday morning.

Tuesday, April 3rd 2012, 5:42 pm

By: News On 6

Pittsburg, Oklahoma Residents Talk About Earthquake Experience

PITTSBURG, Oklahoma -- Mother Nature made her presence felt in Oklahoma early Tuesday morning.

A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck around 2:33 a.m. south of McAlester near the small community of Pittsburg.

A small community known for its serene pastures, where life moves a bit slower, and everyone drops by the Company Store to talk of the day's news. Tuesday it was all about an earthquake centered about a mile south of town.

"My oldest daughter felt it and went right back to sleep," said Pittsburg resident Kristy Crawson.

"It shook the cabinets in the kitchen a little bit, I felt the doors and stuff banging in the kitchen, that's about all I felt," said Pittsburg resident Hunter Wilson.

Most of the residents here were sound asleep.

"Oh I just woke up in the middle of the night, bed was shaking, didn't know what was going on," said Terry Riddle.

Everyone who heard the quake say it started with a loud boom.

"That's what my husband said. At first [he said] it was an earthquake, and then he said it sound like something exploded," said Pittsburg resident Kendra Turney.

The community of Pittsburg is not too far from the Army Ammunitions Plant in McAlester. And the folks here say it's not unusual to hear a loud boom from time to time. The only difference is that usually happens in the daytime.

"You hear about California, you don't think about it being here," Riddle said.

There were those who slept through it all.

"My son was telling me about it this morning, he said it rocked his whole house," said Glenda Parker, Pittsburg resident.

Parker lives right next door to her son. His house shook; she stayed sound asleep.

Whether they felt it or not, Pittsburg residents now have a unique place in geologic history, right up there with San Francisco, as the epicenter of teeth rattling earthquake.

The earthquake was felt as far away as here in Tulsa. There are no reports of any injuries or damage.