QuakeIndex

mine collapse · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.5mb_lg

Earthquake near Kansas City, MO

No earthquake was likely felt in Kansas City in the 24 hours to 4:28 am CST (10:28 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 667 km (414 mi) WSW, at 5:21 am CDT on 23 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 499 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Kansas City

No: USGS classifies this as a mine collapse, not an earthquake. A magnitude 3.5 mine collapse was recorded 26 km (16 mi) north-northwest of Kansas City, MO, at 1:46 pm CDT on 15 March 2024 (18:46 UTC), 1.0 km deep. 141 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2 km NE of Ferrelview, Missouri

24 km (15 mi) NNW of Kansas City, MO

1:46 pm CDT, Mar 15, 2024 · · 1.0 km deep · released about 2.7 tons of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Platte County 11 kmClay County 19 kmWyandotte County 26 kmLeavenworth County 37 kmClinton County 38 kmBuchanan County 39 kmJackson County 44 kmJohnson County 52 kmRay County 56 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
1:46 pm CDT on 15 March 2024 ()
Where
26 km (16 mi) north-northwest of Kansas City, MO · earthquakes near Kansas City
Missouri today
every earthquake in Missouri in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 3.5 (mb_lg)
Depth
1.0 km below the surface
Felt
141 reports · strongest reported intensity V
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Platte County, 11 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 908 days ago

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 Kansas City, 26 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Smithville, Weatherby Lake, Platte City, Parkville, Gladstone, Riverside.

USGS catalogues this as mine collapse, not an earthquake.

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.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.5 about 2.7 tons of TNT
  5. 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 39.3283, -94.6473. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Platte County, MO 11 km (7 mi) WNW earthquakes near Platte County
Clay County, MO 19 km (12 mi) E earthquakes near Clay County
Wyandotte County, KS 26 km (16 mi) SSW earthquakes near Wyandotte County
Leavenworth County, KS 37 km (23 mi) WSW earthquakes near Leavenworth County
Clinton County, MO 38 km (24 mi) NE earthquakes near Clinton County
Buchanan County, MO 39 km (24 mi) NNW earthquakes near Buchanan County

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

Aftershocks so far

No further earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

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.