Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.5mwr
Earthquake near South Hutchinson, KS
No earthquake was likely felt in South Hutchinson in the 24 hours to 2:26 am CST (08:26 UTC). The last one was M 3.6, 186 km (116 mi) S, at 6:48 pm CST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 14 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near South Hutchinson
This page: a magnitude 4.5 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) west of South Hutchinson, KS, at 1:08 pm CST on 19 January 2020 (19:08 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 3,308 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2 km W of South Hutchinson, Kansas
66 km (41 mi) NW of Wichita, KS
- When
- 1:08 pm CST on 19 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) west of South Hutchinson, KS · earthquakes near South Hutchinson
- Magnitude
- M 4.5 (mwr)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3,308 reports · strongest reported intensity VI
- Measured shaking
- intensity VI (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Reno County, 13 km SW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1707 days ago
Earthquake alerts for South Hutchinson, KS
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near South Hutchinson, KS. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 610 km (379 mi) from the epicentre. In South Hutchinson, 3 km away, the estimate is intensity V (moderate). 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: South Hutchinson 3 km, intensity V · Hutchinson 6 km, intensity V · Cheney 47 km, intensity IV. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 85 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 2,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.5 about 85 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 180× 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 (31 mi) since our catalogue begins in 2016. The previous largest was M 4.2 on 2019-08-16.
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 38.0246, -97.9730. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reno County, KS | 13 km (8 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Reno County |
| Rice County, KS | 41 km (26 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Rice County |
| Harvey County, KS | 47 km (29 mi) | E | earthquakes near Harvey County |
| McPherson County, KS | 50 km (31 mi) | NE | earthquakes near McPherson County |
| Kingman County, KS | 55 km (34 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Kingman County |
| Sedgwick County, KS | 59 km (37 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Sedgwick County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
11 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 3 km NE of Cheney, 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
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.