On Friday Evening an Unusually powerful M5.1 Earthquake struck near Oklahoma City in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on February 3rd, 2024. Last updated April 2nd, 2024.

Under land 43 miles from Oklahoma City in The United States, an unusually powerful M5.1 earthquake occurred in the evening of Friday February 2nd, 2024. Around 4.4 million people have been exposed to shaking.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 43 miles (69 km) east of Oklahoma City in Oklahoma. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 2 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Feb 2, 2024 11:24PM (Chicago Time) - Feb 3, 2024 05:24 Universal Time.
Location:	43 mi east of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, The United States. Coordinates 35°32'4"N 96°45'50"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.1 Detected by 78 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.035 .
Depth:	2 mi (3 km) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VIII Severe On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

Several homes and buildings damaged at Prague.

Based on scientific estimates by the USGS, the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 69% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 98% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 82% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 99% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 4.4 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 4.4 million people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

An estimated 250 people were exposed to level VII. At this level, very strong shaking and likely moderate damage can be expected. The majority of people (roughly 2.5 million) live in an area exposed to level IV, where light shaking and likely no damage is expected.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in The United States . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Shawnee in Oklahoma, The United States. Shawnee is located 17 miles (27 km) north-northeast of the epicenter. Shawnee experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly IV. That level implies light shaking and likely no damage.

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Oklahoma City is located 43 mi to the west and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Tulsa is located 61 mi to the north-east and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Norman is located 43 mi to the west-southwest and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is VII.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 5 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 5 people have reported shaking in 3 places, all within Canada.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Stonewall, Manitoba, Canada: 3 people.
• Athabasca, Alberta, Canada: 1 person.
• Dunnville, Ontario, Canada: 1 person.

9 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 9 smaller aftershocks. A 3.5 magnitude earthquake hit 1 hr later 0.9 mi (1.4 km) south-southwest of this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

This is the strongest earthquake in 7 years

Earthquakes of this strength are not so common in the region, but it's not the first time. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since September 3rd, 2016, when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit 62 mi (100 km) further north. That was also the heaviest earthquake to hit the region in the past 10 years.

In total, 1 earthquake with a magnitude of 5.1 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 10 years.

Tsunami very unlikely

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 02/04/24 06:28 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake ok2024cish
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20240203_0000084
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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