Earthquake near Beloit, KS

USGS: 15 km NNE of Cawker City, Kansas

1:51 pm CST, Dec 7, 2018 · 2018-12-07 19:51 UTC · 5.0 km deep · released about 480 lb of TNT

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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: 1:51 pm CST on 7 December 2018 (2018-12-07 19:51 UTC)
Where: 32 km (20 mi) NW of Beloit, KS · earthquakes near Beloit
Magnitude: M 2.8 (mb_lg)
Depth: 5.0 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Jewell County, 20 km NE
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 2785 days ago · we first saw it 2785 days ago

A magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 32 km (20 mi) NW of Beloit, KS, at 1:51 pm CST on 7 December 2018 (19:51 UTC). This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 480 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.8 about 480 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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Epicentre 39.6466, -98.3822. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Jewell County, KS	20 km (12 mi)	NE	earthquakes near Jewell County
Mitchell County, KS	32 km (20 mi)	SSE	earthquakes near Mitchell County
Smith County, KS	38 km (23 mi)	WNW	earthquakes near Smith County
Osborne County, KS	47 km (29 mi)	SW	earthquakes near Osborne County
Webster County, NE	60 km (37 mi)	N	earthquakes near Webster County
Nuckolls County, NE	65 km (41 mi)	NNE	earthquakes near Nuckolls County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

2.6 5 km WSW of Formoso, Kansas 09:51 UTC
2.7 4 km SE of Glen Elder, Kansas 07:09 UTC
2.5 1 km NNW of Glen Elder, Kansas 13:12 UTC
2.5 1 km NNE of Glen Elder, Kansas 08:47 UTC
2.1 0 km N of Glen Elder, Kansas 13:20 UTC
2.8 2 km NNE of Glen Elder, Kansas 02:20 UTC
2.9 2 km NE of Glen Elder, Kansas 23:21 UTC
2.8 0 km NW of Glen Elder, Kansas 09:34 UTC
2.7 1 km N of Glen Elder, Kansas 11:27 UTC
2.7 0 km WSW of Glen Elder, Kansas 07:58 UTC
3.2 0 km SE of Glen Elder, Kansas 07:25 UTC
2.6 7 km N of Jewell, Kansas 06:32 UTC
2.5 7 km WSW of Formoso, Kansas 11:10 UTC
2.5 7 km WSW of Formoso, Kansas 12:57 UTC
2.5 7 km WSW of Formoso, Kansas 02:34 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 05:43 UTC. 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.