QuakeIndex

quarry blast · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Sulphur, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Sulphur in the 24 hours to 2:09 am CST (08:09 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 157 km (97 mi) NW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Sulphur

No: USGS classifies this as a quarry blast, not an earthquake. A magnitude 1.5 quarry blast was recorded 11 km (7 mi) east-southeast of Sulphur, OK, at 1:33 pm CST on 8 January 2024 (19:33 UTC), less than 1 km deep.

USGS: 7 km NNW of Mill Creek, Oklahoma

1:33 pm CST, Jan 8, 2024 · · 0.0 km deep · released about 6.2 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Murray County 20 kmJohnston County 26 kmPontotoc County 32 kmCarter County 46 kmGarvin County 49 kmMarshall County 50 kmCoal County 54 kmLove County 67 kmAtoka County 76 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
1:33 pm CST on 8 January 2024 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) east-southeast of Sulphur, OK · earthquakes near Sulphur
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
0.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Murray County, 20 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1038 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 3 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Sulphur, 11 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: Davis.

USGS catalogues this as quarry blast, not an earthquake.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.2 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 2,500,000× 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 1.5 about 6.2 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 34.4703, -96.8590. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Murray County, OK 20 km (12 mi) W earthquakes near Murray County
Johnston County, OK 26 km (16 mi) SE earthquakes near Johnston County
Pontotoc County, OK 32 km (20 mi) NNE earthquakes near Pontotoc County
Carter County, OK 46 km (29 mi) WSW earthquakes near Carter County
Garvin County, OK 49 km (31 mi) WNW earthquakes near Garvin County
Marshall County, OK 50 km (31 mi) S earthquakes near Marshall 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. 1.6 7 km N of Mill Creek, Oklahoma
  2. 1.5 5 km SE of Dougherty, Oklahoma
  3. 1.5 9 km W of Davis, Oklahoma
  4. 3.1 2 km WNW of Springer, Oklahoma
  5. 1.5 13 km SSW of Stonewall, Oklahoma
  6. 1.5 6 km SSE of Tishomingo, Oklahoma
  7. 1.7 6 km SW of Stonewall, Oklahoma
  8. 1.5 8 km W of Davis, Oklahoma
  9. 1.6 10 km SSE of Wapanucka, Oklahoma
  10. 1.5 9 km SSE of Wapanucka, Oklahoma
  11. 1.7 5 km SE of Mill Creek, Oklahoma
  12. 1.5 8 km WNW of Davis, Oklahoma
  13. 1.9 8 km WNW of Davis, Oklahoma
  14. 2.0 6 km NW of Davis, Oklahoma
  15. 1.5 3 km NNW of Mill Creek, 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.