Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.8mwr
Earthquake near Superior, NE
No earthquake was likely felt in Superior in the 24 hours to 3:50 pm CST (21:50 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 524 km (326 mi) SSW, at 5:21 am CDT on 23 July 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 499 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Superior
This page: a magnitude 3.8 earthquake was recorded 9 km (5 mi) west-southwest of Superior, NE, at 7:51 am CDT on 17 July 2022 (12:51 UTC), 3.0 km deep. 149 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 8 km WSW of Superior, Nebraska
- When
- 7:51 am CDT on 17 July 2022 ()
- Where
- 9 km (5 mi) west-southwest of Superior, NE · earthquakes near Superior
- Magnitude
- M 3.8 (mwr)
- Depth
- 3.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 149 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Nuckolls County, 23 km NNE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1506 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Superior, NE
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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 401 km (249 mi) from the epicentre. In Superior, 9 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: Superior 9 km, intensity IV. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.6 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 22,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.8 about 7.6 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 16× 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 39.9889, -98.1625. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nuckolls County, NE | 23 km (14 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Nuckolls County |
| Jewell County, KS | 24 km (15 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Jewell County |
| Webster County, NE | 36 km (22 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Webster County |
| Republic County, KS | 47 km (29 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Republic County |
| Thayer County, NE | 52 km (33 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Thayer County |
| Smith County, KS | 58 km (36 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Smith County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
31 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.9 7 km E of Cowles, Nebraska
- 2.8 4 km ESE of Cowles, Nebraska
- 2.5 6 km ESE of Cowles, Nebraska
- 2.4 4 km ENE of Cowles, Nebraska
- 2.6 8 km N of Guide Rock, Nebraska
- 2.6 9 km E of Cowles, Nebraska
- 2.3 3 km S of Cowles, Nebraska
- 4.1 4 km E of Cowles, Nebraska
- 2.5 4 km NNE of Jewell, Kansas
- 2.6 5 km WSW of Formoso, Kansas
- 2.8 7 km ENE of Cowles, Nebraska
- 2.6 7 km N of Jewell, Kansas
- 2.5 7 km WSW of Formoso, Kansas
- 2.5 7 km WSW of Formoso, Kansas
- 2.5 11 km E of Cowles, Nebraska
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.