Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.4mb_lg
Earthquake near Wichita, KS
No earthquake was likely felt in Wichita in the 24 hours to 10:07 am CST (16:07 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 240 km (149 mi) SSW, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Wichita
This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 46 km (28 mi) south-southwest of Wichita, KS, at 4:38 pm CST on 20 December 2020 (22:38 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 11 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 7 km NE of Mayfield, Kansas
45 km (28 mi) SSW of Wichita, KS
- When
- 4:38 pm CST on 20 December 2020 ()
- Where
- 46 km (28 mi) south-southwest of Wichita, KS · earthquakes near Wichita
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 11 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Sumner County, 7 km S
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2083 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Wichita, KS
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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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 41 km (25 mi) from the epicentre. In Wichita, 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: Wellington 11 km, intensity III · Conway Springs 17 km, intensity II · Belle Plaine 21 km, intensity II · Caldwell 32 km, intensity II · Haysville 32 km, intensity II · Derby 33 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 4.0 on 2019-01-16 — about 250 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 37.2983, -97.4831. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sumner County, KS | 7 km (4 mi) | S | earthquakes near Sumner County |
| Sedgwick County, KS | 43 km (26 mi) | N | earthquakes near Sedgwick County |
| Harper County, KS | 53 km (33 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Harper County |
| Cowley County, KS | 58 km (36 mi) | E | earthquakes near Cowley County |
| Kay County, OK | 62 km (38 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Kay County |
| Grant County, OK | 63 km (39 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Grant County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
33 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 2 km NW of Renfrow, Oklahoma
- 1.5 2 km NW of Renfrow, Oklahoma
- 1.8 3 km NW of Renfrow, Oklahoma
- 2.4 2 km NW of Renfrow, Oklahoma
- 1.6 2 km NW of Renfrow, Oklahoma
- 1.6 2 km S of Renfrow, Oklahoma
- 2.7 7 km ENE of Renfrow, Oklahoma
- 2.5 6 km SSE of Bluff City, Kansas
- 3.0 5 km SSE of Bluff City, Kansas
- 1.5 5 km N of Nardin, Oklahoma
- 2.3 3 km NE of Cheney, Kansas
- 1.9 9 km WSW of Hunnewell, Kansas
- 2.1 1 km E of Eastborough, Kansas
- 2.0 2 km NNE of Eastborough, Kansas
- 1.7 6 km N of Nardin, Oklahoma
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.