Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.3mb_lg
Earthquake near Hays, KS
No earthquake was likely felt in Hays in the 24 hours to 2:25 am CST (08:25 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 55 km (34 mi) ENE, at 12:18 pm CDT on 15 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Hays
This page: a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) north-northwest of Hays, KS, at 7:33 pm CST on 2 December 2019 (01:33 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 13 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4 km NNW of Zurich, Kansas
- When
- 7:33 pm CST on 2 December 2019 ()
- Where
- 45 km (28 mi) north-northwest of Hays, KS · earthquakes near Hays
- Magnitude
- M 3.3 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 13 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Nearest
- Rooks County, 15 km NE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2447 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Hays, KS
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Hays, 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 234 km (145 mi) from the epicentre. In Hays, 45 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.
Likely felt in: Plainville 15 km, intensity III · Stockton 25 km, intensity III · Hill City 34 km, intensity III · Ellis 38 km, intensity III · Hays 45 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,600× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.3 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.8× 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 since 2016 was M 4.6 on 2019-06-22 — about 89 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 39.2707, -99.4645. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rooks County, KS | 15 km (9 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Rooks County |
| Graham County, KS | 37 km (23 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Graham County |
| Ellis County, KS | 42 km (26 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Ellis County |
| Trego County, KS | 52 km (32 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Trego County |
| Phillips County, KS | 58 km (36 mi) | N | earthquakes near Phillips County |
| Osborne County, KS | 61 km (38 mi) | E | earthquakes near Osborne County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.0 2 km SSW of Bogue, Kansas
- 2.5 9 km S of Bogue, Kansas
- 2.5 9 km SW of Natoma, Kansas
- 2.4 12 km NE of Damar, Kansas
- 2.9 7 km N of Hays, Kansas
- 2.9 5 km SW of Kirwin, Kansas
- 2.8 10 km SSW of Stockton, Kansas
- 2.8 8 km NNW of Stockton, Kansas
- 3.3 7 km NNW of Stockton, Kansas
- 2.5 1 km NE of Zurich, Kansas
- 2.5 11 km NNE of Stockton, Kansas
- 2.6 14 km WSW of Natoma, Kansas
- 2.5 3 km NE of Bogue, Kansas
- 2.8 16 km S of Hill City, Kansas
- 3.0 2 km SW of Zurich, 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.