QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1mb_lg

Earthquake near South Hutchinson, KS

USGS: 4 km WNW of South Hutchinson, Kansas

69 km (43 mi) NW of Wichita, KS

2:26 pm CST, Mar 1, 2018 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 1,300 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Reno County 13 kmRice County 39 kmHarvey County 48 kmMcPherson County 49 kmKingman County 56 kmSedgwick County 61 kmStafford County 64 kmEllsworth County 76 kmPratt County 79 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
2:26 pm CST on 1 March 2018 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) WNW of South Hutchinson, KS · earthquakes near South Hutchinson
Magnitude
M 3.1 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
127 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Reno County, 13 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2388 days ago

A magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) WNW of South Hutchinson, KS, at 2:26 pm CST on 1 March 2018 (20:26 UTC). 127 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: Hutchinson, Nickerson, Buhler, Haven, Sterling, Inman.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,300 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.4× 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 38.0420, -97.9875. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Reno County, KS 13 km (8 mi) SW earthquakes near Reno County
Rice County, KS 39 km (24 mi) NNW earthquakes near Rice County
Harvey County, KS 48 km (30 mi) E earthquakes near Harvey County
McPherson County, KS 49 km (31 mi) NE earthquakes near McPherson County
Kingman County, KS 56 km (35 mi) SSW earthquakes near Kingman County
Sedgwick County, KS 61 km (38 mi) SE earthquakes near Sedgwick County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 4 km SSE of Pretty Prairie, Kansas
  2. 2.2 2 km W of South Hutchinson, Kansas
  3. 2.3 3 km NE of Cheney, Kansas
  4. 2.3 2 km WNW of South Hutchinson, Kansas
  5. 2.1 5 km W of South Hutchinson, Kansas
  6. 2.2 2 km WNW of South Hutchinson, Kansas
  7. 2.4 7 km NE of Partridge, Kansas
  8. 2.2 5 km WNW of South Hutchinson, Kansas
  9. 2.0 2 km WNW of South Hutchinson, Kansas
  10. 2.0 4 km WSW of South Hutchinson, Kansas
  11. 1.8 3 km NW of South Hutchinson, KS
  12. 4.5 2 km W of South Hutchinson, Kansas
  13. 3.0 3 km W of South Hutchinson, Kansas
  14. 3.1 3 km WSW of South Hutchinson, Kansas
  15. 2.2 2 km W of South Hutchinson, 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.