QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Okemah, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Okemah in the 24 hours to 4:16 am CST (10:16 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 159 km (99 mi) W, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Okemah

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) north-northwest of Okemah, OK, at 6:06 am CDT on 4 April 2021 (11:06 UTC), 20 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 5 km N of IXL, Oklahoma

6:06 am CDT, Apr 4, 2021 · · 20 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Okfuskee County 13 kmCreek County 37 kmOkmulgee County 39 kmLincoln County 47 kmSeminole County 51 kmHughes County 59 kmPottawatomie County 66 kmMcIntosh County 68 kmTulsa County 72 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
6:06 am CDT on 4 April 2021 ()
Where
17 km (11 mi) north-northwest of Okemah, OK · earthquakes near Okemah
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Okfuskee County, 13 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2047 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Okemah, 17 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Boley, Bristow, Prague.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 970,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 86× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 2017-07-14 — about 5,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.7 8 km NW of Prague, Oklahoma · 35 km W of this epicentre

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 35.5760, -96.3840. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Okfuskee County, OK 13 km (8 mi) SSE earthquakes near Okfuskee County
Creek County, OK 37 km (23 mi) N earthquakes near Creek County
Okmulgee County, OK 39 km (24 mi) ENE earthquakes near Okmulgee County
Lincoln County, OK 47 km (29 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lincoln County
Seminole County, OK 51 km (31 mi) SSW earthquakes near Seminole County
Hughes County, OK 59 km (37 mi) SSE earthquakes near Hughes County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 8 km NW of Prague, Oklahoma
  2. 1.6 5 km W of Prague, Oklahoma
  3. 1.6 5 km N of Stroud, Oklahoma
  4. 2.1 7 km ESE of Meeker, Oklahoma
  5. 1.7 9 km S of Paden, Oklahoma
  6. 1.9 5 km N of Stroud, Oklahoma
  7. 1.5 Oklahoma
  8. 1.8 4 km NNW of IXL, Oklahoma
  9. 1.6 4 km WSW of IXL, Oklahoma
  10. 1.6 9 km NW of Prague, Oklahoma
  11. 1.6 8 km WNW of Prague, Oklahoma
  12. 2.4 9 km NW of Prague, Oklahoma
  13. 2.1 8 km NW of Prague, Oklahoma
  14. 1.6 8 km NW of Prague, Oklahoma
  15. 2.6 8 km NW of Prague, 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.