Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.4ml
Earthquake near Wellington, KS
No earthquake was likely felt in Wellington in the 24 hours to 5:29 pm CST (23:29 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 194 km (120 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 Wellington
This page: a magnitude 3.4 earthquake was recorded 22 km (14 mi) west of Wellington, KS, at 3:13 pm CDT on 5 August 2017 (20:13 UTC), 2.9 km deep. 10 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4 km ENE of Milan, Kansas
53 km (33 mi) SSW of Wichita, KS
- When
- 3:13 pm CDT on 5 August 2017 ()
- Where
- 22 km (14 mi) west of Wellington, KS · earthquakes near Wellington
- Magnitude
- M 3.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 2.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 10 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Sumner County, 12 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3312 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Wellington, KS
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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 271 km (168 mi) from the epicentre. In Wellington, 22 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: Conway Springs 13 km, intensity IV · Wellington 22 km, intensity III · Caldwell 27 km, intensity III · Belle Plaine 33 km, intensity III · Anthony 38 km, intensity III · Haysville 41 km, intensity III · Cheney 42 km, intensity III · Derby 44 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.9 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 89,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,800× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.4 about 1.9 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4× 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 4.0 on 2016-11-25 — about 7.9 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 37.2710, -97.6243. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sumner County, KS | 12 km (8 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Sumner County |
| Harper County, KS | 40 km (25 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Harper County |
| Sedgwick County, KS | 48 km (30 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Sedgwick County |
| Grant County, OK | 56 km (35 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Grant County |
| Kingman County, KS | 56 km (35 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Kingman County |
| Kay County, OK | 66 km (41 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Kay 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.
- 1.7 10 km SSW of Bluff City, Kansas
- 3.0 6 km NNE of Wakita, Oklahoma
- 2.5 6 km NNE of Wakita, Oklahoma
- 2.0 1 km NNW of Freeport, Kansas
- 2.3 5 km SSW of Bluff City, Kansas
- 3.0 2 km WSW of Mayfield, Kansas
- 1.6 5 km ENE of Anthony, Kansas
- 2.1 8 km SSE of Mayfield, Kansas
- 3.1 6 km NNE of Wakita, Oklahoma
- 2.9 6 km NNE of Wakita, Oklahoma
- 1.5 4 km NNW of Bluff City, Kansas
- 1.9 8 km N of Caldwell, Kansas
- 1.5 8 km SSE of Mayfield, Kansas
- 1.6 8 km SSE of Mayfield, Kansas
- 1.6 8 km SSE of Mayfield, 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
- 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.