Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Oklahoma City, OK
No earthquake was likely felt in Oklahoma City in the 24 hours to 2:20 pm CST (20:20 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 50 km (31 mi) WNW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Oklahoma City
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) northeast of Oklahoma City, OK, at 5:07 pm CDT on 20 September 2020 (22:07 UTC), 6.8 km deep. 71 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 7 km NE of Lake Aluma, Oklahoma
17 km (11 mi) NE of Oklahoma City, OK · 10 km (6 mi) S of Edmond, OK
- When
- 5:07 pm CDT on 20 September 2020 ()
- Where
- 18 km (11 mi) northeast of Oklahoma City, OK · earthquakes near Oklahoma City
- Oklahoma today
- every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 71 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Nearest
- Oklahoma County, 4 km SSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2174 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Oklahoma City, OK
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Oklahoma City, OK. No account or email needed.
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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 60 km (37 mi) from the epicentre. In Oklahoma City, 18 km away, the estimate is intensity III (weak). 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: Edmond 10 km, intensity III · Choctaw 15 km, intensity III · Midwest City 16 km, intensity III · Oklahoma City 18 km, intensity III · Luther 20 km, intensity III · Bethany 23 km, intensity III · Moore 29 km, intensity III · Guthrie 32 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 450 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 34,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 24,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.1× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 450 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.2 on 2016-04-07 — about 130 times the energy of this one.
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 35.5892, -97.3928. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma County, OK | 4 km (3 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Oklahoma County |
| Logan County, OK | 37 km (23 mi) | N | earthquakes near Logan County |
| Cleveland County, OK | 43 km (27 mi) | S | earthquakes near Cleveland County |
| Lincoln County, OK | 48 km (30 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Lincoln County |
| Canadian County, OK | 53 km (33 mi) | W | earthquakes near Canadian County |
| Pottawatomie County, OK | 58 km (36 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Pottawatomie County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
37 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 6 km W of Arcadia, Oklahoma
- 1.9 2 km WNW of Chandler, Oklahoma
- 1.9 8 km NE of Union City, Oklahoma
- 1.5 6 km NE of Union City, Oklahoma
- 2.2 5 km E of Union City, Oklahoma
- 1.6 5 km E of Union City, Oklahoma
- 1.7 3 km NW of Coyle, Oklahoma
- 1.6 3 km NW of Coyle, Oklahoma
- 2.4 3 km NW of Coyle, Oklahoma
- 1.6 3 km NW of Coyle, Oklahoma
- 2.8 6 km W of Arcadia, Oklahoma
- 1.7 8 km WSW of Langston, Oklahoma
- 1.7 9 km ESE of Mulhall, Oklahoma
- 2.4 12 km NW of Edmond, Oklahoma
- 1.7 11 km NW of Edmond, Oklahoma
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.