QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.3ml

Earthquake near Woodward, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Woodward in the 24 hours to 3:47 pm CST (21:47 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 152 km (94 mi) SE, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Woodward

This page: a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 30 km (19 mi) east-northeast of Woodward, OK, at 12:45 am CDT on 30 September 2016 (05:45 UTC), 6.4 km deep. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 5 km NNW of Quinlan, Oklahoma

12:45 am CDT, Sep 30, 2016 · · 6.4 km deep · released about 1.3 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Woodward Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Woodward County 21 kmWoods County 31 kmMajor County 51 kmDewey County 59 kmHarper County 63 kmEllis County 69 kmAlfalfa County 71 kmComanche County 77 kmBarber County 87 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
12:45 am CDT on 30 September 2016 ()
Where
30 km (19 mi) east-northeast of Woodward, OK · earthquakes near Woodward
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 3.3 (ml)
Depth
6.4 km below the surface
Felt
5 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Woodward County, 21 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3599 days ago

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 234 km (145 mi) from the epicentre. In Woodward, 30 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: Mooreland 14 km, intensity III · Woodward 30 km, intensity III · Alva 49 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,600× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.3 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.8× 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 5.1 on 2016-02-13 — about 500 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 36.5034, -99.0645. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Woodward County, OK 21 km (13 mi) WSW earthquakes near Woodward County
Woods County, OK 31 km (19 mi) NE earthquakes near Woods County
Major County, OK 51 km (32 mi) ESE earthquakes near Major County
Dewey County, OK 59 km (36 mi) S earthquakes near Dewey County
Harper County, OK 63 km (39 mi) WNW earthquakes near Harper County
Ellis County, OK 69 km (43 mi) WSW earthquakes near Ellis County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 1 km NW of Chester, Oklahoma
  2. 2.7 10 km NNE of Quinlan, Oklahoma
  3. 2.5 16 km SSE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  4. 3.0 16 km SSE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  5. 2.9 9 km SW of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  6. 3.1 16 km SSE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  7. 2.9 10 km WSW of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  8. 2.7 6 km W of Carmen, Oklahoma
  9. 2.6 16 km SSE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  10. 3.3 16 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  11. 4.1 17 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  12. 2.6 17 km SSE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  13. 2.5 17 km SSE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  14. 2.7 5 km NE of Avard, Oklahoma
  15. 2.6 17 km ESE of Waynoka, 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.