Earthquake near Smith Center, KS

USGS: 12 km NE of Portis, Kansas

3:45 pm CST, Nov 16, 2016 · 2016-11-16 21:45 UTC · 5.0 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

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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: 3:45 pm CST on 16 November 2016 (2016-11-16 21:45 UTC)
Where: 22 km (13 mi) SE of Smith Center, KS · earthquakes near Smith Center
Magnitude: M 2.7 (mb_lg)
Depth: 5.0 km below the surface
Felt: 6 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest: Smith County, 22 km NW
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 3515 days ago · we first saw it 3515 days ago

A magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 22 km (13 mi) SE of Smith Center, KS, at 3:45 pm CST on 16 November 2016 (21:45 UTC). 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Osborne.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Epicentre 39.6504, -98.5941. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Smith County, KS	22 km (14 mi)	NW	earthquakes near Smith County
Jewell County, KS	35 km (22 mi)	ENE	earthquakes near Jewell County
Osborne County, KS	37 km (23 mi)	SSW	earthquakes near Osborne County
Mitchell County, KS	44 km (27 mi)	SE	earthquakes near Mitchell County
Webster County, NE	60 km (37 mi)	N	earthquakes near Webster County
Phillips County, KS	66 km (41 mi)	WNW	earthquakes near Phillips County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

2.6 6 km WNW of Cawker City, Kansas 07:54 UTC
2.5 13 km N of Cawker City, Kansas 21:52 UTC
2.5 11 km WNW of Jewell, Kansas 20:52 UTC
2.8 12 km SW of Mankato, Kansas 06:22 UTC
2.5 15 km NNW of Cawker City, Kansas 13:20 UTC
2.6 9 km W of Webber, Kansas 08:57 UTC
3.1 11 km W of Webber, Kansas 11:11 UTC
2.6 12 km NNW of Cawker City, Kansas 02:54 UTC
2.6 13 km NNE of Downs, Kansas 06:13 UTC
2.8 10 km NNW of Cawker City, Kansas 05:54 UTC
2.6 11 km SE of Esbon, Kansas 22:11 UTC
3.5 Kansas 19:29 UTC
2.5 11 km SSE of Esbon, Kansas 09:22 UTC
2.6 Kansas 18:06 UTC
3.3 11 km SSE of Esbon, Kansas 12:57 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 02:10 UTC. 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.