QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1mb_lg

Earthquake near Kiowa, KS

No earthquake was likely felt in Kiowa in the 24 hours to 10:08 am CST (16:08 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 161 km (100 mi) SSE, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Kiowa

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) northeast of Kiowa, KS, at 6:20 am CST on 1 February 2019 (12:20 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 1 km ESE of Hazelton, Kansas

6:20 am CST, Feb 1, 2019 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 43 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Harper County 31 kmBarber County 31 kmAlfalfa County 40 kmKingman County 56 kmWoods County 58 kmGrant County 62 kmPratt County 70 kmComanche County 78 kmSumner County 81 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
6:20 am CST on 1 February 2019 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) northeast of Kiowa, KS · earthquakes near Kiowa
Magnitude
M 2.1 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Harper County, 31 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1556 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 28 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Kiowa, 12 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Medicine Lodge.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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 4.4 on 2018-06-09 — about 2,800 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 37.0836, -98.3855. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Harper County, KS 31 km (19 mi) ENE earthquakes near Harper County
Barber County, KS 31 km (19 mi) WNW earthquakes near Barber County
Alfalfa County, OK 40 km (25 mi) S earthquakes near Alfalfa County
Kingman County, KS 56 km (35 mi) NNE earthquakes near Kingman County
Woods County, OK 58 km (36 mi) SW earthquakes near Woods County
Grant County, OK 62 km (39 mi) ESE earthquakes near Grant County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 9 km E of Nescatunga, Oklahoma
  2. 2.9 10 km SSE of Byron, Oklahoma
  3. 2.0 4 km S of Harper, Kansas
  4. 1.8 1 km NNE of Manchester, Oklahoma
  5. 1.8 7 km E of Nescatunga, Oklahoma
  6. 2.5 7 km E of Nescatunga, Oklahoma
  7. 1.6 7 km E of Nescatunga, Oklahoma
  8. 2.1 6 km NE of Cherokee, Oklahoma
  9. 2.0 5 km NNE of Cherokee, Oklahoma
  10. 2.3 7 km ENE of Nescatunga, Oklahoma
  11. 2.2 11 km SSE of Spivey, Kansas
  12. 2.2 7 km ENE of Nescatunga, Oklahoma
  13. 1.9 1 km NNE of Manchester, Oklahoma
  14. 1.6 8 km ENE of Manchester, Oklahoma
  15. 1.5 8 km ENE of Manchester, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.