QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Alva, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Alva in the 24 hours to 2:16 pm CST (20:16 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 144 km (90 mi) SSE, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Alva

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) south-southwest of Alva, OK, at 12:52 am CST on 26 January 2024 (06:52 UTC), 5.2 km deep.

USGS: 6 km ENE of Avard, Oklahoma

12:52 am CST, Jan 26, 2024 · · 5.2 km deep · released about 6.2 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Woods County 13 kmAlfalfa County 35 kmMajor County 47 kmBarber County 57 kmWoodward County 59 kmComanche County 70 kmHarper County 78 kmGrant County 83 kmHarper County 85 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
12:52 am CST on 26 January 2024 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) south-southwest of Alva, OK · earthquakes near Alva
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
5.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Woods County, 13 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1020 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 Alva, 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.

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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 5.1 on 2016-02-13 — about 220,000 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 36.7128, -98.7188. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Woods County, OK 13 km (8 mi) W earthquakes near Woods County
Alfalfa County, OK 35 km (22 mi) E earthquakes near Alfalfa County
Major County, OK 47 km (29 mi) SSE earthquakes near Major County
Barber County, KS 57 km (35 mi) N earthquakes near Barber County
Woodward County, OK 59 km (37 mi) WSW earthquakes near Woodward County
Comanche County, KS 70 km (44 mi) NW earthquakes near Comanche County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 17 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  2. 1.8 4 km NE of Cherokee, Oklahoma
  3. 1.7 5 km N of Cherokee, Oklahoma
  4. 1.9 16 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  5. 1.8 15 km SSE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  6. 1.6 10 km NNE of Freedom, Oklahoma
  7. 2.1 16 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  8. 1.6 20 km NNW of Mooreland, Oklahoma
  9. 1.6 14 km SSE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  10. 1.9 14 km SSE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  11. 2.0 16 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  12. 2.1 15 km SSE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  13. 1.8 14 km SSE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  14. 1.6 1 km NNW of Lambert, Oklahoma
  15. 2.6 1 km NNW of Lambert, 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.