Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.4mb_lg
Earthquake near Cheney, KS
No earthquake was likely felt in Cheney in the 24 hours to 10:06 am CST (16:06 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 226 km (140 mi) S, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Cheney
This page: a magnitude 3.4 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) south of Cheney, KS, at 2:21 am CDT on 31 August 2017 (07:21 UTC), 4.7 km deep. 96 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 7 km S of Cheney, Kansas
40 km (25 mi) WSW of Wichita, KS
- When
- 2:21 am CDT on 31 August 2017 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) south of Cheney, KS · earthquakes near Cheney
- Magnitude
- M 3.4 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 4.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 96 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Sedgwick County, 30 km ENE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2428 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Cheney, KS
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Cheney, KS. 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 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 Cheney, 8 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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: Cheney 8 km, intensity IV · Conway Springs 22 km, intensity III · Haysville 37 km, intensity III · Wichita 41 km, intensity III · Derby 44 km, intensity III · Belle Plaine 47 km, intensity III · Wellington 48 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
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 37.5587, -97.7708. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedgwick County, KS | 30 km (19 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Sedgwick County |
| Kingman County, KS | 33 km (20 mi) | W | earthquakes near Kingman County |
| Sumner County, KS | 43 km (27 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Sumner County |
| Harper County, KS | 49 km (30 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Harper County |
| Reno County, KS | 51 km (32 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Reno County |
| Harvey County, KS | 62 km (39 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Harvey 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.
- 1.5 5 km E of Harper, Kansas
- 2.8 5 km E of Harper, Kansas
- 1.5 5 km E of Harper, Kansas
- 1.7 7 km N of Argonia, Kansas
- 1.6 2 km W of Freeport, Kansas
- 2.5 10 km S of Spivey, Kansas
- 2.8 10 km S of Spivey, Kansas
- 3.2 9 km S of Spivey, Kansas
- 1.8 7 km N of Argonia, Kansas
- 1.7 5 km E of Harper, Kansas
- 2.1 2 km W of Freeport, Kansas
- 2.7 2 km W of Freeport, Kansas
- 2.6 5 km ESE of Harper, Kansas
- 1.7 11 km SSE of Milan, Kansas
- 2.3 8 km SE of Zenda, 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.