QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Ponca City, OK

No earthquake was likely felt in Ponca City in the 24 hours to 3:51 pm CST (21:51 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 149 km (93 mi) SW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Ponca City

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) northwest of Ponca City, OK, at 5:40 pm CDT on 30 June 2018 (22:40 UTC), 5.5 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 7 km WSW of Hunnewell, Kansas

79 km (49 mi) S of Wichita, KS

5:40 pm CDT, Jun 30, 2018 · · 5.5 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sumner County 28 kmGrant County 34 kmKay County 36 kmHarper County 56 kmCowley County 64 kmNoble County 71 kmGarfield County 73 kmSedgwick County 77 kmAlfalfa 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
5:40 pm CDT on 30 June 2018 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) northwest of Ponca City, OK · earthquakes near Ponca City
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
5.5 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Sumner County, 28 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2973 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 46 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In Ponca City, 48 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: Caldwell 11 km, intensity III · Blackwell 27 km, intensity II · Wellington 33 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 4.3 on 2017-09-08 — about 500 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 36.9871, -97.4913. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sumner County, KS 28 km (17 mi) N earthquakes near Sumner County
Grant County, OK 34 km (21 mi) SW earthquakes near Grant County
Kay County, OK 36 km (23 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kay County
Harper County, KS 56 km (35 mi) WNW earthquakes near Harper County
Cowley County, KS 64 km (40 mi) ENE earthquakes near Cowley County
Noble County, OK 71 km (44 mi) SSE earthquakes near Noble County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 4 km NE of Danville, Kansas
  2. 2.4 3 km NW of Freeport, Kansas
  3. 1.9 3 km NW of Freeport, Kansas
  4. 2.5 7 km NE of Danville, Kansas
  5. 2.8 3 km ENE of South Haven, Kansas
  6. 1.9 3 km NE of Manchester, Oklahoma
  7. 1.8 9 km WSW of Hunnewell, Kansas
  8. 1.6 8 km WSW of Hunnewell, Kansas
  9. 1.9 8 km WSW of Hunnewell, Kansas
  10. 1.5 9 km WSW of Hunnewell, Kansas
  11. 1.8 8 km WSW of Hunnewell, Kansas
  12. 2.0 4 km E of Bluff City, Kansas
  13. 2.5 5 km E of Bluff City, Kansas
  14. 2.0 5 km E of Bluff City, Kansas
  15. 1.8 2 km SSE of Bluff City, 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.