QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Duncan, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Duncan in the 24 hours to 2:27 pm CST (20:27 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 123 km (77 mi) N, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Duncan

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 35 km (21 mi) northeast of Duncan, OK, at 6:34 am CDT on 17 April 2021 (11:34 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 12 km SW of Erin Springs, Oklahoma

83 km (51 mi) SSW of Oklahoma City, OK

6:34 am CDT, Apr 17, 2021 · · 13 km deep · released about 6.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Stephens County 32 kmGrady County 34 kmGarvin County 37 kmMcClain County 39 kmCleveland County 63 kmMurray County 66 kmCarter County 67 kmComanche County 70 kmJefferson 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
6:34 am CDT on 17 April 2021 ()
Where
35 km (21 mi) northeast of Duncan, OK · earthquakes near Duncan
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Stephens County, 32 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2031 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 Duncan, 35 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: Bray, Lindsay, Rush Springs, Marlow, Ninnekah, Maysville.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.4 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 34.7432, -97.7193. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Stephens County, OK 32 km (20 mi) SSW earthquakes near Stephens County
Grady County, OK 34 km (21 mi) NNW earthquakes near Grady County
Garvin County, OK 37 km (23 mi) E earthquakes near Garvin County
McClain County, OK 39 km (24 mi) NE earthquakes near McClain County
Cleveland County, OK 63 km (39 mi) NE earthquakes near Cleveland County
Murray County, OK 66 km (41 mi) ESE earthquakes near Murray County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 2 km SSW of Blanchard, Oklahoma
  2. 1.8 9 km E of Chickasha, Oklahoma
  3. 2.0 11 km SE of Ratliff City, Oklahoma
  4. 1.6 12 km SE of Ratliff City, Oklahoma
  5. 2.1 6 km NNW of Lindsay, Oklahoma
  6. 1.6 12 km SE of Ratliff City, Oklahoma
  7. 1.6 11 km SE of Katie, Oklahoma
  8. 2.1 10 km SE of Ratliff City, Oklahoma
  9. 1.5 2 km SSW of Blanchard, Oklahoma
  10. 1.7 2 km SSW of Blanchard, Oklahoma
  11. 1.8 2 km SSW of Blanchard, Oklahoma
  12. 1.8 7 km SW of Dibble, Oklahoma
  13. 3.3 7 km SW of Dibble, Oklahoma
  14. 1.6 7 km SW of Dibble, Oklahoma
  15. 2.0 9 km ESE of Chickasha, 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.