I live in the earthquake zone in southern Kansas and feel earthquakes from both my state and Oklahoma. I have significant damage to my house and garage from these quakes. I have spent $13,500 so far and have given up on making repairs until the shaking stops. You can check for photos of my property and other Kansas properties at https://www.facebook.com/KansasSierraClub/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10153909580492608. I am also attaching photos of my damage.
Every time I feel any vibration or hear any noise at my house I stop. I wait. If nothing shakes, I continue with my day. Every single time. I never used to have to worry about this and I have lived in Kansas since I was born. I used to blame all this on my cats but now I feel as if I am living in a haunted house with a poltergeist that shows itself unexpectedly and damages my property for no reason.
My walls are cracked, my basement and garage floors are cracked, my north wall has slipped, and it is all getting worse. We just had a 4.4 last week and now my cracking has widened. I have given up on repairing things knowing no repairs will be permanent!
I also created an online petition to the Kansas Corporation Commission (http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/kansas-earthquakes-fracking?source=c.em&r_by=7613250). It sent emails to each of the commissioners and I also delivered a print copy to them last January. with 1700 signatures in less than a month. After the delivery I was asked not to send anymore emails and I complied with that request from their legal department.
I grew up and still live with tornadoes but I also know what to do and how to find safety. There is no safety from induced earthquakes where I live. Even earthquake insurance doesn’t work because the companies say they will cover only naturally occurring quakes.
The City of Wichita has also experienced damage. After we had a 5.1 earthquake several months ago there were 3 water main breaks. Were they covered by insurance? They had an earthquake policy but I do not know if it paid out.
Name: Lori Lawrence