QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7mb_lg

Earthquake near Belle Plaine, KS

No earthquake was likely felt in Belle Plaine in the 24 hours to 12:28 am CST (06:28 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 210 km (130 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 Belle Plaine

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 9 km (5 mi) west of Belle Plaine, KS, at 3:07 am CDT on 19 April 2017 (08:07 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 8 km W of Belle Plaine, Kansas

33 km (21 mi) S of Wichita, KS

3:07 am CDT, Apr 19, 2017 · · 11 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Belle Plaine Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sumner County 20 kmSedgwick County 33 kmCowley County 51 kmButler County 64 kmHarper County 65 kmKay County 68 kmKingman County 70 kmHarvey County 73 kmGrant County 77 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
3:07 am CDT on 19 April 2017 ()
Where
9 km (5 mi) west of Belle Plaine, KS · earthquakes near Belle Plaine
Magnitude
M 2.7 (mb_lg)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sumner County, 20 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3411 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 55 km (34 mi) from the epicentre. In Belle Plaine, 9 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: Belle Plaine 9 km, intensity III · Wellington 14 km, intensity III · Haysville 19 km, intensity III · Derby 19 km, intensity III · Conway Springs 23 km, intensity III · Wichita 33 km, intensity II · Andover 41 km, intensity II · Cheney 44 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. 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

Epicentre 37.3949, -97.3787. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sumner County, KS 20 km (13 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sumner County
Sedgwick County, KS 33 km (20 mi) NNW earthquakes near Sedgwick County
Cowley County, KS 51 km (32 mi) ESE earthquakes near Cowley County
Butler County, KS 64 km (39 mi) NE earthquakes near Butler County
Harper County, KS 65 km (40 mi) WSW earthquakes near Harper County
Kay County, OK 68 km (42 mi) SSE earthquakes near Kay County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 6 km SSW of Cheney, Kansas
  2. 2.6 2 km SSW of Cheney, Kansas
  3. 2.1 5 km ESE of Caldwell, Kansas
  4. 1.9 2 km S of Milan, Kansas
  5. 1.8 2 km S of Milan, Kansas
  6. 2.6 3 km S of Rose Hill, Kansas
  7. 1.6 5 km ESE of Caldwell, Kansas
  8. 2.6 4 km ESE of Caldwell, Kansas
  9. 2.0 10 km WNW of Caldwell, Kansas
  10. 1.6 10 km WNW of Caldwell, Kansas
  11. 1.7 5 km E of Caldwell, Kansas
  12. 1.5 7 km SE of Conway Springs, Kansas
  13. 2.3 11 km SSW of Wellington, Kansas
  14. 2.5 9 km WNW of Belle Plaine, Kansas
  15. 2.4 8 km WNW of Belle Plaine, Kansas

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.