Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1mb_lg
Earthquake near Choctaw, OK
No earthquake was likely felt in Choctaw in the 24 hours to 2:12 pm CST (20:12 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 71 km (44 mi) W, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Choctaw
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded in Choctaw, OK, at 12:01 pm CDT on 16 May 2018 (17:01 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 1 km SE of Choctaw, Oklahoma
23 km (14 mi) E of Oklahoma City, OK · 11 km (7 mi) ENE of Midwest City, OK
- When
- 12:01 pm CDT on 16 May 2018 ()
- Where
- in Choctaw, OK · earthquakes near Choctaw
- Oklahoma today
- every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Oklahoma County, 16 km WNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3010 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Choctaw, OK
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Choctaw, 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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 28 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Choctaw in town, intensity II · Midwest City 13 km, intensity II · Luther 20 km, intensity II · Oklahoma City 24 km, intensity II · Moore 26 km, intensity II · Edmond 27 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.2 on 2016-04-07 — about 1,400 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 · 45 km E 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 35.4850, -97.2575. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma County, OK | 16 km (10 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Oklahoma County |
| Cleveland County, OK | 32 km (20 mi) | S | earthquakes near Cleveland County |
| Pottawatomie County, OK | 41 km (25 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Pottawatomie County |
| Lincoln County, OK | 42 km (26 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Lincoln County |
| Logan County, OK | 51 km (32 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Logan County |
| McClain County, OK | 55 km (34 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near McClain County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
39 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.5 2 km ESE of Bridge Creek, Oklahoma
- 2.0 2 km ENE of Bridge Creek, Oklahoma
- 2.5 2 km E of Bridge Creek, Oklahoma
- 2.6 8 km W of Meridian, Oklahoma
- 2.1 6 km SSE of Newcastle, Oklahoma
- 3.6 2 km SW of Wellston, Oklahoma
- 2.0 6 km NNE of Bridge Creek, Oklahoma
- 2.3 5 km W of Arcadia, Oklahoma
- 2.6 5 km W of Arcadia, Oklahoma
- 2.5 3 km NE of Arcadia, Oklahoma
- 3.0 8 km W of Meridian, Oklahoma
- 2.9 6 km SE of Meridian, Oklahoma
- 2.4 5 km S of Yukon, Oklahoma
- 2.2 7 km ENE of Guthrie, Oklahoma
- 2.1 5 km S of Yukon, 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.