QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Blackwell, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Blackwell in the 24 hours to 6:29 am CST (12:29 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 149 km (93 mi) SSW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Blackwell

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) north-northwest of Blackwell, OK, at 11:26 am CDT on 24 August 2024 (16:26 UTC), 7.0 km deep.

USGS: 2 km SW of Braman, Oklahoma

87 km (54 mi) S of Wichita, KS

11:26 am CDT, Aug 24, 2024 · · 7.0 km deep · released about 5.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kay County 21 kmSumner County 39 kmGrant County 41 kmCowley County 58 kmNoble County 59 kmGarfield County 71 kmHarper County 71 kmSedgwick County 86 kmPawnee County 88 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
11:26 am CDT on 24 August 2024 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) north-northwest of Blackwell, OK · earthquakes near Blackwell
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
7.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kay County, 21 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 807 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 Blackwell, 13 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: Tonkawa, Newkirk, Caldwell.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.6 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 2,700,000× 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 5.6 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 31,000 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 36.9082, -97.3503. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kay County, OK 21 km (13 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kay County
Sumner County, KS 39 km (24 mi) NNW earthquakes near Sumner County
Grant County, OK 41 km (26 mi) WSW earthquakes near Grant County
Cowley County, KS 58 km (36 mi) NE earthquakes near Cowley County
Noble County, OK 59 km (37 mi) S earthquakes near Noble County
Garfield County, OK 71 km (44 mi) SSW earthquakes near Garfield County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 0.6 8 km ESE of Marland, Oklahoma
  2. 1.1 4 km NW of Medford, Oklahoma
  3. 1.8 9 km NW of Renfrow, Oklahoma
  4. 1.5 8 km NNW of Hunter, Oklahoma
  5. 1.6 9 km NE of Blackwell, Oklahoma
  6. 2.2 6 km NNW of Red Rock, Oklahoma
  7. 2.4 3 km ENE of Medford, Oklahoma
  8. 1.5 4 km NE of Medford, Oklahoma
  9. 1.9 8 km NNW of Deer Creek, Oklahoma
  10. 1.6 4 km SSW of Hunnewell, Kansas
  11. 1.8 10 km W of Braman, Oklahoma
  12. 1.8 7 km N of Nardin, Oklahoma
  13. 1.5 6 km N of Nardin, Oklahoma
  14. 1.7 6 km N of Nardin, Oklahoma
  15. 2.3 3 km W of Hunter, 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.