QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.4mwr

Earthquake near Superior, NE

No earthquake was likely felt in Superior in the 24 hours to 3:48 pm CST (21:48 UTC). The last one was M 5.0, 524 km (326 mi) SSW, at 5:21 am CDT on 23 July 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 499 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Superior

This page: a magnitude 3.4 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) west-southwest of Superior, NE, at 7:04 am CDT on 26 July 2022 (12:04 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 12 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 8 km WSW of Superior, Nebraska

7:04 am CDT, Jul 26, 2022 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 1.9 tons of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Jewell County 23 kmNuckolls County 24 kmWebster County 36 kmRepublic County 47 kmThayer County 53 kmSmith County 58 kmClay County 61 kmMitchell County 66 kmAdams County 66 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
7:04 am CDT on 26 July 2022 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) west-southwest of Superior, NE · earthquakes near Superior
Magnitude
M 3.4 (mwr)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
12 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Measured shaking
intensity IV (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Jewell County, 23 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1502 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 271 km (168 mi) from the epicentre. In Superior, 9 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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: Superior 9 km, intensity IV. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.9 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.4 about 1.9 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4× 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

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 39.9816, -98.1608. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Jewell County, KS 23 km (15 mi) SSW earthquakes near Jewell County
Nuckolls County, NE 24 km (15 mi) NNE earthquakes near Nuckolls County
Webster County, NE 36 km (23 mi) NW earthquakes near Webster County
Republic County, KS 47 km (29 mi) ESE earthquakes near Republic County
Thayer County, NE 53 km (33 mi) ENE earthquakes near Thayer County
Smith County, KS 58 km (36 mi) WSW earthquakes near Smith County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 7 km E of Cowles, Nebraska
  2. 2.8 4 km ESE of Cowles, Nebraska
  3. 2.5 6 km ESE of Cowles, Nebraska
  4. 2.4 4 km ENE of Cowles, Nebraska
  5. 2.6 8 km N of Guide Rock, Nebraska
  6. 2.6 9 km E of Cowles, Nebraska
  7. 2.3 3 km S of Cowles, Nebraska
  8. 4.1 4 km E of Cowles, Nebraska
  9. 2.5 4 km NNE of Jewell, Kansas
  10. 2.6 5 km WSW of Formoso, Kansas
  11. 2.8 7 km ENE of Cowles, Nebraska
  12. 2.6 7 km N of Jewell, Kansas
  13. 2.5 7 km WSW of Formoso, Kansas
  14. 2.5 7 km WSW of Formoso, Kansas
  15. 2.5 11 km E of Cowles, Nebraska

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.