Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6mb_lg
Earthquake near Pratt, KS
No earthquake was likely felt in Pratt in the 24 hours to 10:20 pm CST (04:20 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 234 km (146 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 Pratt
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 41 km (25 mi) south-southwest of Pratt, KS, at 8:50 am CDT on 24 May 2016 (13:50 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 10 km SSE of Sun City, Kansas
- When
- 8:50 am CDT on 24 May 2016 ()
- Where
- 41 km (25 mi) south-southwest of Pratt, KS · earthquakes near Pratt
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Barber County, 18 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1562 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Pratt, KS
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Pratt, KS. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 51 km (32 mi) from the epicentre. In Pratt, 41 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: Medicine Lodge.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 37.2930, -98.8681. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barber County, KS | 18 km (11 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Barber County |
| Comanche County, KS | 36 km (22 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Comanche County |
| Pratt County, KS | 41 km (25 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Pratt County |
| Kiowa County, KS | 47 km (30 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kiowa County |
| Woods County, OK | 63 km (39 mi) | S | earthquakes near Woods County |
| Kingman County, KS | 70 km (44 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Kingman County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
11 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 Oklahoma
- 2.1 1 km ESE of Hazelton, Kansas
- 2.6 14 km WNW of Alva, Oklahoma
- 3.1 15 km WNW of Alva, Oklahoma
- 2.5 19 km WSW of Hardtner, Kansas
- 3.2 15 km WNW of Alva, Oklahoma
- 2.9 15 km WNW of Alva, Oklahoma
- 2.7 15 km WNW of Alva, Oklahoma
- 2.6 15 km WNW of Alva, Oklahoma
- 2.8 1 km ESE of Medicine Lodge, Kansas
- 2.8 15 km WNW of Alva, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.