Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3mb_lg
Earthquake near Medicine Lodge, KS
No earthquake was likely felt in Medicine Lodge in the 24 hours to 2:23 pm CST (20:23 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 192 km (119 mi) SSE, at 5:53 am CST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 23 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Medicine Lodge
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 15 km (10 mi) south-southeast of Medicine Lodge, KS, at 9:54 pm CDT on 26 October 2022 (02:54 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 12 km NW of Hazelton, Kansas
- When
- 9:54 pm CDT on 26 October 2022 ()
- Where
- 15 km (10 mi) south-southeast of Medicine Lodge, KS · earthquakes near Medicine Lodge
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Barber County, 17 km WNW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1408 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Medicine Lodge, KS
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Medicine Lodge, 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 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 37 km (23 mi) from the epicentre. In Medicine Lodge, 15 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Kiowa.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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 4.2 on 2021-02-19 — about 710 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 37.1534, -98.5161. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barber County, KS | 17 km (10 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Barber County |
| Harper County, KS | 40 km (25 mi) | E | earthquakes near Harper County |
| Alfalfa County, OK | 50 km (31 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Alfalfa County |
| Kingman County, KS | 55 km (34 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Kingman County |
| Woods County, OK | 57 km (35 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Woods County |
| Pratt County, KS | 58 km (36 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Pratt County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
16 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 9 km SSE of Byron, Oklahoma
- 1.8 4 km NE of Cherokee, Oklahoma
- 2.5 6 km SSE of Spivey, Kansas
- 2.4 9 km S of Spivey, Kansas
- 1.7 5 km N of Cherokee, Oklahoma
- 1.6 12 km SSE of Waldron, Kansas
- 1.9 7 km S of Byron, Oklahoma
- 2.4 3 km WSW of Harper, Kansas
- 1.8 2 km SSE of Cherokee, Oklahoma
- 1.6 3 km ESE of Manchester, Oklahoma
- 1.8 9 km SSE of Byron, Oklahoma
- 2.3 6 km NNE of Avard, Oklahoma
- 2.2 10 km N of Dacoma, Oklahoma
- 1.8 11 km N of Dacoma, Oklahoma
- 2.5 6 km SW of Manchester, 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.