Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.2mb_lg
Earthquake near Osborne, KS
No earthquake was likely felt in Osborne in the 24 hours to 4:56 am CST (10:56 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 43 km (27 mi) S, at 12:18 pm CDT on 15 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Osborne
This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) west-southwest of Osborne, KS, at 2:38 pm CDT on 24 May 2023 (19:38 UTC), 6.7 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 12 km S of Alton, Kansas
- When
- 2:38 pm CDT on 24 May 2023 ()
- Where
- 23 km (14 mi) west-southwest of Osborne, KS · earthquakes near Osborne
- Magnitude
- M 3.2 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 6.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Osborne County, 15 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1203 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Osborne, KS
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Osborne, 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 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 190 km (118 mi) from the epicentre. In Osborne, 23 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: Stockton 29 km, intensity III · Plainville 33 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,900 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 180,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,900× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,600× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,900 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2× 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.6 on 2019-06-22 — about 130 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 39.3587, -98.9467. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Osborne County, KS | 15 km (10 mi) | E | earthquakes near Osborne County |
| Rooks County, KS | 33 km (20 mi) | W | earthquakes near Rooks County |
| Smith County, KS | 49 km (31 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Smith County |
| Russell County, KS | 52 km (32 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Russell County |
| Phillips County, KS | 58 km (36 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Phillips County |
| Ellis County, KS | 59 km (37 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Ellis County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
17 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.7 7 km SSW of Luray, Kansas
- 2.5 9 km SW of Natoma, Kansas
- 2.4 12 km NE of Damar, Kansas
- 2.9 5 km SW of Kirwin, Kansas
- 2.8 10 km SSW of Stockton, Kansas
- 2.8 8 km NNW of Stockton, Kansas
- 3.3 7 km NNW of Stockton, Kansas
- 2.5 1 km NE of Zurich, Kansas
- 2.5 11 km NNE of Stockton, Kansas
- 2.6 14 km WSW of Natoma, Kansas
- 3.0 4 km SE of Paradise, Kansas
- 3.0 2 km SW of Zurich, Kansas
- 2.7 11 km NW of Stockton, Kansas
- 3.4 10 km NW of Woodston, Kansas
- 2.9 13 km NNE of Luray, 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
- 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.