Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.3mwr
Earthquake near Wellington, KS
No earthquake was likely felt in Wellington in the 24 hours to 3:48 pm CST (21:48 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 194 km (120 mi) SSW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Wellington
This page: a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) south of Wellington, KS, at 12:32 pm CST on 25 January 2019 (18:32 UTC), 4.3 km deep. 8 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3 km ENE of South Haven, Kansas
70 km (44 mi) S of Wichita, KS
- When
- 12:32 pm CST on 25 January 2019 ()
- Where
- 23 km (14 mi) south of Wellington, KS · earthquakes near Wellington
- Magnitude
- M 3.3 (mwr)
- Depth
- 4.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- 8 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Sumner County, 23 km NNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2770 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Wellington, KS
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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 234 km (145 mi) from the epicentre. In Wellington, 23 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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 22 km, intensity III · Wellington 23 km, intensity III · Blackwell 29 km, intensity III · Belle Plaine 38 km, intensity III · Conway Springs 44 km, intensity III · Ponca City 46 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,600× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.3 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.8× 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2017-09-08 — about 32 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 37.0600, -97.3647. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sumner County, KS | 23 km (14 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Sumner County |
| Kay County, OK | 34 km (21 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Kay County |
| Grant County, OK | 48 km (30 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Grant County |
| Cowley County, KS | 51 km (31 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Cowley County |
| Harper County, KS | 64 km (40 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Harper County |
| Sedgwick County, KS | 70 km (43 mi) | N | earthquakes near Sedgwick County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 7 km N of Nardin, Oklahoma
- 2.8 8 km N of Nardin, Oklahoma
- 2.4 9 km ESE of Jefferson, Oklahoma
- 2.3 6 km N of Nardin, Oklahoma
- 3.1 9 km ESE of Jefferson, Oklahoma
- 1.9 Kansas
- 1.9 2 km SSE of Bluff City, Kansas
- 1.8 3 km ENE of Freeport, Kansas
- 1.6 3 km ENE of Freeport, Kansas
- 2.3 9 km SSE of Milan, Kansas
- 2.7 10 km SSE of Milan, Kansas
- 2.6 2 km ENE of Medford, Oklahoma
- 1.9 2 km SE of Milan, Kansas
- 1.8 7 km N of Nardin, Oklahoma
- 1.9 7 km N of Nardin, Oklahoma
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.