Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.5mb_lg
Earthquake near Herington, KS
No earthquake was likely felt in Herington in the 24 hours to 7:36 am CST (13:36 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 60 km (37 mi) W, at 4:50 pm CDT on 16 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 18 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Herington
This page: a magnitude 3.5 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) northwest of Herington, KS, at 12:33 am CDT on 12 March 2020 (05:33 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 47 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km NNE of Hope, Kansas
- When
- 12:33 am CDT on 12 March 2020 ()
- Where
- 11 km (7 mi) northwest of Herington, KS · earthquakes near Herington
- Magnitude
- M 3.5 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 47 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Dickinson County, 18 km NW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2211 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Herington, KS
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Herington, 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 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 306 km (190 mi) from the epicentre. In Herington, 11 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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: Herington 11 km, intensity IV · Junction City 37 km, intensity III · Marion 44 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 2.7 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 63,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.5 about 2.7 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 5.6× 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
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
Epicentre 38.7397, -97.0401. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dickinson County, KS | 18 km (11 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Dickinson County |
| Morris County, KS | 34 km (21 mi) | E | earthquakes near Morris County |
| Geary County, KS | 37 km (23 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Geary County |
| Marion County, KS | 43 km (26 mi) | S | earthquakes near Marion County |
| Saline County, KS | 53 km (33 mi) | W | earthquakes near Saline County |
| Chase County, KS | 62 km (39 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Chase County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
60 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.5 5 km WSW of Gypsum, Kansas
- 3.1 5 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
- 2.7 Kansas
- 1.8 6 km E of Assaria, Kansas
- 3.1 4 km ESE of Assaria, Kansas
- 2.5 8 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
- 2.4 8 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
- 2.8 4 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
- 2.5 8 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
- 2.5 6 km WSW of Gypsum, Kansas
- 3.7 7 km WSW of Gypsum, Kansas
- 3.7 6 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
- 2.0 2 km SSW of Marion, Kansas
- 2.7 4 km E of Assaria, Kansas
- 2.6 6 km WSW of Gypsum, 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.