QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5mb_lg

Earthquake near Salina, KS

No earthquake was likely felt in Salina in the 24 hours to 3:14 am CST (09:14 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 10 km (6 mi) SSE, at 3:40 pm CDT on 8 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Salina

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 22 km (14 mi) north of Salina, KS, at 9:40 pm CST on 27 January 2024 (03:40 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 43 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 4 km W of Bennington, Kansas

9:40 pm CST, Jan 27, 2024 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ottawa County 11 kmSaline County 27 kmDickinson County 47 kmLincoln County 49 kmCloud County 50 kmClay County 54 kmEllsworth County 61 kmMitchell County 62 kmMcPherson 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
9:40 pm CST on 27 January 2024 ()
Where
22 km (14 mi) north of Salina, KS · earthquakes near Salina
Magnitude
M 2.5 (mb_lg)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
43 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Ottawa County, 11 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 955 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 Salina, 22 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.

Likely felt in: Salina 22 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 39.0379, -97.6495. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ottawa County, KS 11 km (7 mi) N earthquakes near Ottawa County
Saline County, KS 27 km (17 mi) S earthquakes near Saline County
Dickinson County, KS 47 km (29 mi) ESE earthquakes near Dickinson County
Lincoln County, KS 49 km (30 mi) W earthquakes near Lincoln County
Cloud County, KS 50 km (31 mi) N earthquakes near Cloud County
Clay County, KS 54 km (33 mi) NE earthquakes near Clay County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 9 km NNE of Assaria, Kansas
  2. 2.9 5 km SSW of Assaria, Kansas
  3. 3.5 6 km E of Assaria, Kansas
  4. 3.7 10 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  5. 2.6 9 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  6. 2.9 7 km WSW of Gypsum, Kansas
  7. 3.3 5 km E of Assaria, Kansas
  8. 3.3 7 km ENE of Assaria, Kansas
  9. 2.7 3 km E of Assaria, Kansas
  10. 3.4 6 km ENE of Assaria, Kansas
  11. 2.6 7 km SW of Gypsum, Kansas
  12. 2.7 2 km SW of Assaria, Kansas
  13. 2.4 3 km ENE of Assaria, Kansas
  14. 2.7 4 km WSW of Assaria, Kansas
  15. 2.6 0 km SSW of Assaria, 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.