Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
5 km SW of Bluff City, KS
Yes. A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 5 km SW of Bluff City, KS, 87 km (54 mi) SW of Wichita, KS, at 4:30 pm CST on 22 February 2016 (22:30 UTC), 1.4 km deep.
87 km (54 mi) SW of Wichita, KS
- When
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 1.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Harper County, 20 km NW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3898 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Anthony, KS
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 20 km (12 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.
Likely felt in: Anthony 15 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 19 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 790,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 560,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 50× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 19 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.
Where
Epicentre 37.0510, -97.9170. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harper County, KS | 20 km (13 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Harper County |
| Grant County, OK | 31 km (19 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Grant County |
| Sumner County, KS | 43 km (27 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Sumner County |
| Alfalfa County, OK | 51 km (32 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Alfalfa County |
| Kingman County, KS | 59 km (37 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Kingman County |
| Barber County, KS | 71 km (44 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Barber County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 5 km NW of Mayfield, Kansas
- 2.9 5 km E of Pond Creek, Oklahoma
- 1.9 6 km NW of Mayfield, Kansas
- 1.9 6 km NW of Mayfield, Kansas
- 2.1 6 km WNW of Mayfield, Kansas
- 1.6 6 km NW of Mayfield, Kansas
- 1.8 6 km NW of Mayfield, Kansas
- 1.5 6 km NW of Mayfield, Kansas
- 2.3 6 km SSE of Harper, Kansas
- 2.2 6 km NW of Mayfield, Kansas
- 1.7 6 km ESE of Freeport, Kansas
- 1.7 6 km NW of Mayfield, Kansas
- 1.5 6 km NW of Mayfield, Kansas
- 1.6 10 km ESE of Bluff City, Kansas
- 1.6 8 km S of Anthony, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.