QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6mb_lg

Earthquake near Concordia, KS

USGS: 7 km S of Courtland, Kansas

12:21 pm CDT, Aug 31, 2017 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Republic County 25 kmJewell County 28 kmCloud County 34 kmMitchell County 44 kmNuckolls County 53 kmThayer County 58 kmOttawa County 67 kmWashington County 70 kmWebster County 73 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
12:21 pm CDT on 31 August 2017 ()
Where
26 km (16 mi) NW of Concordia, KS · earthquakes near Concordia
Magnitude
M 2.6 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Republic County, 25 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3230 days ago

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 26 km (16 mi) NW of Concordia, KS, at 12:21 pm CDT on 31 August 2017 (17:21 UTC). 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS. This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Belleville.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 39.7121, -97.9069. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Republic County, KS 25 km (16 mi) ENE earthquakes near Republic County
Jewell County, KS 28 km (17 mi) WNW earthquakes near Jewell County
Cloud County, KS 34 km (21 mi) SE earthquakes near Cloud County
Mitchell County, KS 44 km (27 mi) SW earthquakes near Mitchell County
Nuckolls County, NE 53 km (33 mi) NNW earthquakes near Nuckolls County
Thayer County, NE 58 km (36 mi) NNE earthquakes near Thayer County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 4 km NNE of Jewell, Kansas
  2. 2.6 5 km WSW of Formoso, Kansas
  3. 2.7 4 km SE of Glen Elder, Kansas
  4. 2.5 1 km NNW of Glen Elder, Kansas
  5. 2.5 1 km NNE of Glen Elder, Kansas
  6. 2.1 0 km N of Glen Elder, Kansas
  7. 2.8 2 km NNE of Glen Elder, Kansas
  8. 2.9 2 km NE of Glen Elder, Kansas
  9. 2.8 0 km NW of Glen Elder, Kansas
  10. 2.7 1 km N of Glen Elder, Kansas
  11. 2.7 0 km WSW of Glen Elder, Kansas
  12. 3.2 0 km SE of Glen Elder, Kansas
  13. 2.6 7 km N of Jewell, Kansas
  14. 2.5 7 km WSW of Formoso, Kansas
  15. 2.5 7 km WSW of Formoso, 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.