QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9ml

Earthquake near Woodward, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Woodward in the 24 hours to 3:48 pm CST (21:48 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 2.9 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) east-southeast of Woodward, OK, at 5:24 pm CDT on 28 September 2018 (22:24 UTC), 6.5 km deep.

USGS: 1 km SSW of Chester, Oklahoma

5:24 pm CDT, Sep 28, 2018 · · 6.5 km deep · released about 680 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dewey County 26 kmMajor County 36 kmWoodward County 40 kmBlaine County 58 kmWoods County 58 kmCuster County 63 kmEllis County 74 kmAlfalfa County 79 kmRoger Mills County 92 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
5:24 pm CDT on 28 September 2018 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) east-southeast of Woodward, OK · earthquakes near Woodward
Oklahoma today
every earthquake in Oklahoma in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.9 (ml)
Depth
6.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Dewey County, 26 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2902 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 67 km (42 mi) from the epicentre. In Woodward, 49 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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 36 km, intensity II · Fairview 41 km, intensity II · Woodward 49 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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 5.1 on 2016-02-13 — about 2,000 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 36.2048, -98.9249. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dewey County, OK 26 km (16 mi) SSW earthquakes near Dewey County
Major County, OK 36 km (23 mi) ENE earthquakes near Major County
Woodward County, OK 40 km (25 mi) NW earthquakes near Woodward County
Blaine County, OK 58 km (36 mi) SE earthquakes near Blaine County
Woods County, OK 58 km (36 mi) N earthquakes near Woods County
Custer County, OK 63 km (39 mi) S earthquakes near Custer County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 4 km SE of Cleo Springs, Oklahoma
  2. 2.4 7 km NNE of Quinlan, Oklahoma
  3. 2.3 9 km NE of Quinlan, Oklahoma
  4. 2.3 8 km W of Fairview, Oklahoma
  5. 1.7 13 km SSE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  6. 1.8 9 km NE of Quinlan, Oklahoma
  7. 2.0 9 km NE of Quinlan, Oklahoma
  8. 2.1 17 km SSE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  9. 2.0 9 km NE of Quinlan, Oklahoma
  10. 1.6 7 km W of Seiling, Oklahoma
  11. 1.5 9 km NE of Quinlan, Oklahoma
  12. 1.9 16 km SE of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  13. 1.7 21 km W of Cleo Springs, Oklahoma
  14. 1.6 11 km W of Waynoka, Oklahoma
  15. 2.0 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.