QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4mb_lg

Earthquake near Wichita, KS

USGS: 6 km NNE of Norwich, Kansas

46 km (29 mi) WSW of Wichita, KS

8:19 pm CST, Feb 25, 2021 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Wichita Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Kingman County 29 kmSedgwick County 37 kmSumner County 42 kmHarper County 42 kmReno County 54 kmHarvey County 69 kmGrant County 80 kmPratt County 83 kmBarber County 83 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
8:19 pm CST on 25 February 2021 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) WSW of Wichita, KS · earthquakes near Wichita
Magnitude
M 2.4 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Kingman County, 29 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1705 days ago

A magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) WSW of Wichita, KS, at 8:19 pm CST on 25 February 2021 (02:19 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Cheney, Conway Springs, Goddard, Clearwater, Kingman.

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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
  4. 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

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 37.5113, -97.8193. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Kingman County, KS 29 km (18 mi) W earthquakes near Kingman County
Sedgwick County, KS 37 km (23 mi) ENE earthquakes near Sedgwick County
Sumner County, KS 42 km (26 mi) SE earthquakes near Sumner County
Harper County, KS 42 km (26 mi) SSW earthquakes near Harper County
Reno County, KS 54 km (33 mi) NNW earthquakes near Reno County
Harvey County, KS 69 km (43 mi) NNE earthquakes near Harvey County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 1 km SE of Danville, Kansas
  2. 2.6 5 km WSW of Danville, Kansas
  3. 2.5 6 km SSE of Spivey, Kansas
  4. 2.4 9 km S of Spivey, Kansas
  5. 2.6 5 km S of Milton, Kansas
  6. 2.4 3 km WSW of Harper, Kansas
  7. 3.3 7 km SW of Danville, Kansas
  8. 2.1 4 km SSE of Cheney, Kansas
  9. 2.5 4 km SSE of Pretty Prairie, Kansas
  10. 2.3 6 km SW of Goddard, Kansas
  11. 3.2 9 km N of Norwich, Kansas
  12. 2.6 3 km ENE of Freeport, Kansas
  13. 2.3 Kansas
  14. 2.4 Kansas
  15. 2.4 3 km W of Danville, 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.