QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Kansas

Yes. A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded in Kansas, 56 km (35 mi) SW of Wichita, KS, at 1:21 am CST on 2 February 2016 (07:21 UTC), 1.7 km deep.

56 km (35 mi) SW of Wichita, KS

· 1.7 km deep · released about 8.4 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sumner County 29 kmHarper County 29 kmKingman County 39 kmSedgwick County 48 kmGrant County 61 kmReno County 72 kmBarber County 80 kmKay County 82 kmAlfalfa County 82 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
1.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sumner County, 29 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3585 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Conway Springs, Harper, Anthony.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.4 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 37.3372, -97.7928. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sumner County, KS 29 km (18 mi) ESE earthquakes near Sumner County
Harper County, KS 29 km (18 mi) SW earthquakes near Harper County
Kingman County, KS 39 km (24 mi) NW earthquakes near Kingman County
Sedgwick County, KS 48 km (30 mi) NE earthquakes near Sedgwick County
Grant County, OK 61 km (38 mi) S earthquakes near Grant County
Reno County, KS 72 km (45 mi) NNW earthquakes near Reno County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.7 4 km ESE of Anthony, Kansas
  2. 1.9 4 km ESE of Anthony, Kansas
  3. 1.6 3 km WNW of Freeport, Kansas
  4. 1.9 5 km SW of Bluff City, KS
  5. 1.9 Kansas
  6. 2.9 11 km NNW of Caldwell, Kansas
  7. 1.8 6 km S of Anthony, Kansas
  8. 1.9 1 km NNE of Manchester, Oklahoma
  9. 1.8 2 km SSW of Bluff City, Kansas
  10. 2.0 2 km SW of Bluff City, Kansas
  11. 1.9 3 km SE of Harper, Kansas
  12. 1.6 11 km E of Bluff City, Kansas
  13. 1.8 2 km SSW of Bluff City, Kansas
  14. 1.5 11 km SSE of Milan, Kansas
  15. 2.1 5 km SW of Mayfield, Kansas

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.