QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Hennessey, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Hennessey in the 24 hours to 3:28 pm CST (21:28 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 57 km (35 mi) SSW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Hennessey

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded in Hennessey, OK, at 12:50 am CST on 19 December 2020 (06:50 UTC), 6.8 km deep.

USGS: 1 km SSE of Hennessey, Oklahoma

78 km (48 mi) NNW of Oklahoma City, OK · 34 km (21 mi) S of Enid, OK

12:50 am CST, Dec 19, 2020 · · 6.8 km deep · released about 27 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kingfisher County 17 kmGarfield County 32 kmLogan County 45 kmBlaine County 54 kmCanadian County 62 kmMajor County 63 kmNoble County 67 kmOklahoma County 74 kmGrant County 77 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
12:50 am CST on 19 December 2020 ()
Where
in Hennessey, OK · earthquakes near Hennessey
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
6.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kingfisher County, 17 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2151 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 22 km (14 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: Hennessey in town, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 27 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 560,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 390,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 35× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 27 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 4.6 on 2018-04-09 — about 8,800 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 36.0980, -97.8913. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kingfisher County, OK 17 km (11 mi) SSW earthquakes near Kingfisher County
Garfield County, OK 32 km (20 mi) NNE earthquakes near Garfield County
Logan County, OK 45 km (28 mi) ESE earthquakes near Logan County
Blaine County, OK 54 km (34 mi) WSW earthquakes near Blaine County
Canadian County, OK 62 km (39 mi) S earthquakes near Canadian County
Major County, OK 63 km (39 mi) WNW earthquakes near Major County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 5 km ESE of Covington, Oklahoma
  2. 2.1 5 km WNW of Lucien, Oklahoma
  3. 1.9 5 km ESE of Covington, Oklahoma
  4. 1.5 6 km WNW of Lucien, Oklahoma
  5. 2.1 5 km W of Lucien, Oklahoma
  6. 2.2 6 km WNW of Lucien, Oklahoma
  7. 2.6 5 km WNW of Lucien, Oklahoma
  8. 2.0 5 km ESE of Covington, Oklahoma
  9. 2.5 5 km ESE of Covington, Oklahoma
  10. 4.2 5 km WNW of Lucien, Oklahoma
  11. 1.7 5 km WNW of Lucien, Oklahoma
  12. 2.6 5 km WNW of Lucien, Oklahoma
  13. 2.3 5 km WNW of Lucien, Oklahoma
  14. 3.6 6 km WNW of Lucien, Oklahoma
  15. 3.5 5 km WNW of Lucien, 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

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