QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Harrah, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Harrah in the 24 hours to 9:25 am CST (15:25 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 81 km (50 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 Harrah

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) northeast of Harrah, OK, at 5:14 pm CDT on 21 September 2023 (22:14 UTC), 6.0 km deep.

USGS: 11 km NE of Harrah, Oklahoma

41 km (25 mi) ENE of Oklahoma City, OK · 29 km (18 mi) ENE of Midwest City, OK

5:14 pm CDT, Sep 21, 2023 · · 6.0 km deep · released about 5.7 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lincoln County 23 kmOklahoma County 30 kmPottawatomie County 41 kmCleveland County 46 kmLogan County 51 kmPayne County 58 kmSeminole County 63 kmOkfuskee County 69 kmMcClain County 70 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
5:14 pm CDT on 21 September 2023 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) northeast of Harrah, OK · earthquakes near Harrah
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
6.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lincoln County, 23 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1143 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 Harrah, 12 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: McLoud, Luther, Meeker, Jones, Choctaw, Chandler.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.7 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 2,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.7 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 10,000 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 · 29 km E 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 35.5672, -97.0773. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lincoln County, OK 23 km (14 mi) NE earthquakes near Lincoln County
Oklahoma County, OK 30 km (19 mi) W earthquakes near Oklahoma County
Pottawatomie County, OK 41 km (25 mi) SSE earthquakes near Pottawatomie County
Cleveland County, OK 46 km (29 mi) SSW earthquakes near Cleveland County
Logan County, OK 51 km (32 mi) NW earthquakes near Logan County
Payne County, OK 58 km (36 mi) N earthquakes near Payne County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 6 km W of Arcadia, Oklahoma
  2. 1.8 6 km ENE of Edmond, Oklahoma
  3. 1.7 6 km ENE of Edmond, Oklahoma
  4. 4.1 6 km ENE of Edmond, Oklahoma
  5. 2.6 5 km W of Arcadia, Oklahoma
  6. 1.8 6 km W of Arcadia, Oklahoma
  7. 2.4 6 km W of Arcadia, Oklahoma
  8. 2.1 6 km ENE of Edmond, Oklahoma
  9. 1.6 6 km W of Arcadia, Oklahoma
  10. 2.2 5 km W of Arcadia, Oklahoma
  11. 1.8 6 km W of Arcadia, Oklahoma
  12. 2.4 6 km W of Arcadia, Oklahoma
  13. 2.4 6 km W of Arcadia, Oklahoma
  14. 2.5 5 km W of Arcadia, Oklahoma
  15. 1.8 6 km W of Arcadia, 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.