QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5mb_lg

Earthquake near Herington, KS

No earthquake was likely felt in Herington in the 24 hours to 7:34 am CST (13:34 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 60 km (37 mi) W, at 4:50 pm CDT on 16 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 18 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Herington

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) northwest of Herington, KS, at 9:59 pm CST on 2 February 2022 (03:59 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 10 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 6 km ENE of Hope, Kansas

9:59 pm CST, Feb 2, 2022 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dickinson County 21 kmMorris County 31 kmGeary County 38 kmMarion County 41 kmSaline County 56 kmChase County 59 kmMcPherson County 66 kmRiley County 68 kmClay County 71 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
9:59 pm CST on 2 February 2022 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) northwest of Herington, KS · earthquakes near Herington
Magnitude
M 2.5 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
10 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Dickinson County, 21 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1671 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 46 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In Herington, 8 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: Herington 8 km, intensity III · Junction City 38 km, intensity II · Marion 41 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 38.7186, -97.0119. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dickinson County, KS 21 km (13 mi) NW earthquakes near Dickinson County
Morris County, KS 31 km (20 mi) E earthquakes near Morris County
Geary County, KS 38 km (24 mi) NNE earthquakes near Geary County
Marion County, KS 41 km (25 mi) S earthquakes near Marion County
Saline County, KS 56 km (35 mi) W earthquakes near Saline County
Chase County, KS 59 km (37 mi) SE earthquakes near Chase County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 5 km SW of Hope, Kansas
  2. 3.5 6 km E of Assaria, Kansas
  3. 2.6 6 km NW of Ramona, Kansas
  4. 3.7 10 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  5. 2.7 7 km SE of Enterprise, Kansas
  6. 2.6 9 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  7. 2.9 7 km WSW of Gypsum, Kansas
  8. 3.3 5 km E of Assaria, Kansas
  9. 3.3 7 km ENE of Assaria, Kansas
  10. 2.7 3 km E of Assaria, Kansas
  11. 3.4 6 km ENE of Assaria, Kansas
  12. 2.4 5 km NE of Hope, Kansas
  13. 2.6 7 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  14. 3.5 5 km NNW of Herington, Kansas
  15. 2.6 7 km ESE of Marion, 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.