Kansas earthquakes

M3.4 earthquake 3 km E of Milan, Kansas

A magnitude 3.4 earthquake struck 3 km E of Milan, Kansas on Mon, Sep 8, 2014, 7:56 AM CDT (12:56 UTC), 5 km (3 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.3 7 km SW of Danville, Kansas. This one was a foreshock.

Conway Springs forecast More in Kansas

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude: 3.4 (Mwr, regional moment), minor
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Mon, Sep 8, 2014, 7:56 AM CDT
UTC: 2014-09-08 12:56:52 UTC
Depth: 5.0 km (3.1 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 37.263° N, 97.635° W
Region: Kansas
Felt reports: 29
Strongest shaking: IV, light shaking
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
3.4	Mwr, regional moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed · 14 stations
3.89	ML, local (Richter)	ISMPKANSAS	Final · ±0.163 · 20 stations

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Felt (III) at Arkansas City and Wellington; (II) at Caldwell. Also felt at Argonia, Belle Plaine, Cleveland, Conway Springs, Harper, Hutchinson, Mayfield, Milton, Salina, Wichita and Winfield. Felt at Tulsa, Oklahoma.

From the USGS event page for usb000sab9. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Shaking

The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.

Strongest estimated: IV, light shaking
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

Did you feel it?

29 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was V, moderate shaking.

Fault motion and ground failure

How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.

Faulting: Strike-slip
Moment magnitude: 3.4 Mwr
Nodal plane 1: Strike 355°, dip 65°, rake -30°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 99°, dip 63°, rake -152°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Location uncertainty: About 2.1 km horizontally, 2.0 km in depth
Depth from: OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Station coverage gap: 38°
Stations used: 35

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: at least 199 in the 60 days after this one and 110 in the 30 days before it.

After

The first 60 of at least 199.

Before

Earthquakes today Kansas earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usb000sab9 (also filed as ismpkansas70030518). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 6:47 PM UTC.