Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.0mwr
Earthquake near Oklahoma City, OK
No earthquake was likely felt in Oklahoma City in the 24 hours to 10:48 am CST (16:48 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 50 km (31 mi) WNW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Oklahoma City
This page: a magnitude 4.0 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) east-northeast of Oklahoma City, OK, at 8:34 am CDT on 17 August 2016 (13:34 UTC), 6.1 km deep. 517 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2 km SW of Wellston, Oklahoma
46 km (28 mi) ENE of Oklahoma City, OK · 30 km (19 mi) E of Edmond, OK
- When
- 8:34 am CDT on 17 August 2016 ()
- Where
- 46 km (29 mi) east-northeast of Oklahoma City, OK · earthquakes near Oklahoma City
- Oklahoma today
- every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 4.0 (mwr)
- Depth
- 6.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 517 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Lincoln County, 18 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2428 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Oklahoma City, OK
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Oklahoma City, OK. 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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 461 km (286 mi) from the epicentre. In Oklahoma City, 46 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.
Likely felt in: Luther 11 km, intensity IV · Chandler 18 km, intensity IV · Choctaw 26 km, intensity IV · Perkins 33 km, intensity IV · Langston 34 km, intensity IV · Edmond 36 km, intensity IV · Midwest City 38 km, intensity IV · Guthrie 38 km, intensity IV. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 15 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 11,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.0 about 15 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 32× more
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 2 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.7 8 km NW of Prague, Oklahoma · 33 km ESE 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 35.6775, -97.0794. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County, OK | 18 km (11 mi) | E | earthquakes near Lincoln County |
| Oklahoma County, OK | 33 km (20 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Oklahoma County |
| Logan County, OK | 43 km (26 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Logan County |
| Payne County, OK | 46 km (28 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Payne County |
| Pottawatomie County, OK | 53 km (33 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Pottawatomie County |
| Cleveland County, OK | 57 km (35 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Cleveland County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.8 4 km NE of Arcadia, Oklahoma
- 2.8 6 km NNW of Fallis, Oklahoma
- 3.0 10 km WSW of Shamrock, Oklahoma
- 3.3 10 km WSW of Shamrock, Oklahoma
- 2.2 5 km E of Edmond, Oklahoma
- 2.7 4 km E of Luther, Oklahoma
- 2.6 4 km NE of Coyle, Oklahoma
- 2.3 7 km ESE of Guthrie, Oklahoma
- 2.1 Oklahoma
- 2.6 2 km WSW of Meridian, Oklahoma
- 3.3 4 km NE of Coyle, Oklahoma
- 2.8 6 km N of Cushing, Oklahoma
- 2.8 0 km ENE of Meridian, Oklahoma
- 3.2 1 km NE of Meridian, Oklahoma
- 2.7 1 km NE of Meridian, 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.