Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6mb_lg
Earthquake near Hutchinson, KS
USGS: 2 km SSE of Willowbrook, Kansas
71 km (44 mi) NW of Wichita, KS
- When
- 8:30 am CDT on 16 August 2019 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) WNW of Hutchinson, KS · earthquakes near Hutchinson
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 25 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Reno County, 17 km SSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2526 days ago
A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) WNW of Hutchinson, KS, at 8:30 am CDT on 16 August 2019 (13:30 UTC). 25 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: South Hutchinson, Nickerson, Buhler, Sterling, Inman, Haven.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 4.2 on 2019-08-16 — about 250 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 38.0837, -97.9811. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reno County, KS | 17 km (11 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Reno County |
| Rice County, KS | 35 km (22 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Rice County |
| McPherson County, KS | 45 km (28 mi) | NE | earthquakes near McPherson County |
| Harvey County, KS | 48 km (30 mi) | E | earthquakes near Harvey County |
| Kingman County, KS | 61 km (38 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Kingman County |
| Sedgwick County, KS | 64 km (40 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Sedgwick County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
30 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.5 4 km SSE of Pretty Prairie, Kansas
- 2.2 2 km W of South Hutchinson, Kansas
- 2.3 2 km WNW of South Hutchinson, Kansas
- 2.1 5 km W of South Hutchinson, Kansas
- 2.2 2 km WNW of South Hutchinson, Kansas
- 2.4 7 km NE of Partridge, Kansas
- 2.2 5 km WNW of South Hutchinson, Kansas
- 2.0 2 km WNW of South Hutchinson, Kansas
- 2.0 4 km WSW of South Hutchinson, Kansas
- 1.8 3 km NW of South Hutchinson, KS
- 4.5 2 km W of South Hutchinson, Kansas
- 3.0 3 km W of South Hutchinson, Kansas
- 3.1 3 km WSW of South Hutchinson, Kansas
- 2.2 2 km W of South Hutchinson, Kansas
- 2.6 5 km WSW 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
- 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.