QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Oklahoma

Yes. A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded in Oklahoma, 48 km (30 mi) NNE of Enid, OK, at 11:33 am CDT on 15 May 2022 (16:33 UTC), 7.7 km deep.

48 km (30 mi) NNE of Enid, OK · 103 km (64 mi) SSW of Wichita, KS

· 7.7 km deep · released about 9 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Grant County 7 kmGarfield County 49 kmKay County 51 kmSumner County 51 kmHarper County 52 kmAlfalfa County 55 kmNoble County 64 kmKingman County 90 kmCowley County 91 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
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
7.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Grant County, 7 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1640 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 7 km (4 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Caldwell.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 9 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 4.5 on 2022-01-31 — about 19,000 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 36.8153, -97.7130. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Grant County, OK 7 km (5 mi) WSW earthquakes near Grant County
Garfield County, OK 49 km (30 mi) S earthquakes near Garfield County
Kay County, OK 51 km (31 mi) E earthquakes near Kay County
Sumner County, KS 51 km (32 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sumner County
Harper County, KS 52 km (32 mi) NW earthquakes near Harper County
Alfalfa County, OK 55 km (34 mi) W earthquakes near Alfalfa 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. 1.5 5 km SW of Manchester, Oklahoma
  2. 1.7 6 km NW of Medford, Oklahoma
  3. 1.8 7 km E of Nescatunga, Oklahoma
  4. 2.4 0 km ESE of Renfrow, Oklahoma
  5. 2.4 6 km NW of Medford, Oklahoma
  6. 2.1 Oklahoma
  7. 2.1 6 km SE of Wakita, Oklahoma
  8. 1.9 6 km SE of Wakita, Oklahoma
  9. 2.9 6 km SE of Wakita, Oklahoma
  10. 1.7 6 km SE of Wakita, Oklahoma
  11. 2.7 8 km WSW of Hunnewell, Kansas
  12. 1.7 7 km NW of Medford, Oklahoma
  13. 1.6 6 km NE of Medford, Oklahoma
  14. 2.5 6 km E of Bluff City, Kansas
  15. 2.8 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.