QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5mb_lg

Earthquake near Salina, KS

No earthquake was likely felt in Salina in the 24 hours to 9:25 am CST (15:25 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 10 km (6 mi) SSE, at 3:40 pm CDT on 8 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Salina

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) east-southeast of Salina, KS, at 10:37 am CDT on 31 July 2026 (15:37 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 5 km SW of Hope, Kansas

10:37 am CDT, Jul 31, 2026 · · 10 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dickinson County 23 kmMarion County 34 kmMorris County 42 kmSaline County 48 kmGeary County 49 kmMcPherson County 54 kmChase County 62 kmOttawa County 70 kmHarvey County 73 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
10:37 am CDT on 31 July 2026 ()
Where
46 km (29 mi) east-southeast of Salina, KS · earthquakes near Salina
Magnitude
M 2.5 (mb_lg)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Dickinson County, 23 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 79 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 45 km (28 mi) from the epicentre. In Salina, 46 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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.

Likely felt in: Herington 16 km, intensity III · Marion 36 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 4.3 on 2021-12-08 — about 500 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 38.6631, -97.1286. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dickinson County, KS 23 km (14 mi) N earthquakes near Dickinson County
Marion County, KS 34 km (21 mi) S earthquakes near Marion County
Morris County, KS 42 km (26 mi) E earthquakes near Morris County
Saline County, KS 48 km (30 mi) WNW earthquakes near Saline County
Geary County, KS 49 km (30 mi) NE earthquakes near Geary County
McPherson County, KS 54 km (34 mi) WSW earthquakes near McPherson County

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

Aftershocks so far

2 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.6 9 km NNE of Assaria, Kansas
  2. 2.9 5 km SSW of Assaria, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.