Kansas
Earthquake History
The earliest, and possibly the
strongest, shock reported within
Kansas' borders occurred April 24,
1867. Several persons were injured,
though not seriously. Plaster cracked,
objects were thrown from shelves,
and doors and windows were shaken
at Lawrence. The earthquake was
also felt strongly at Manhattan,
where stones loosened on buildings
and walls cracked. A heavy wave,
about two feet high, was observed
on the Kansas River at Manhattan.
The tremor was felt over an area of
300,000 square miles in Kansas,
Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas,
Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and
possibly Ohio.
A moderate earthquake near
Valley Falls, northeast of Topeka, on
November 8, 1875, was felt over
about 8,000 square miles in eastern
Kansas and western Missouri.
Dishes rattled; windows shook; some
buildings rocked or quivered
(intensity V).
Eastern Kansas felt the effects of
a strong earthquake centered near
Charleston, Missouri, in 1895. The
October 31 shock affected about
one million square miles over 23
States. Topeka reported the strongest
effects in Kansas - houses shook
and people were awakened. Dishes
and windows rattled in other towns.
The area around Dodge City and
Meade, in western Kansas, was
shaken with an intensity V earthquake
on October 27, 1904. Some
reports indicated three shocks were
felt at Dodge City.
On January 7, 1906, a strong
shock affected an area of about
10,000 square miles in Kansas, Missouri,
and Nebraska. Chimneys
were thrown down and some cracks
in walls were observed at Manhattan
(intensity VII). Houses and
buildings vibrated at Topeka, where
a loud roaring sound was also heard.
Some towns reported feeling two or
three shocks. A series of small
aftershocks of the January 7 earthquake
was felt in Manhattan, the
last being reported on January 23.
An earthquake on March 18, 1927,
near White Cloud, in the extreme
northeastern portion of the State,
rocked houses such that people
rushed out of them. The felt area
was limited to about 300 square miles.
Four shocks - two on September 23,
1929, one each on October 21 and
December 7, 1929 - were reported
from the same area of northeastern
Kansas. Houses shook over a
broad area around Manhattan in
September. The total affected area
covered approximately 15,000 square
miles. The October tremor was felt
over an area of 8,000 square miles;
that in December covered only
1,000 square miles. The maximum
reported intensity of all these
earthquakes was V.
A moderate earthquake was felt
on February 20, 1933, over about
6,000 square miles in Norton and
Decatur counties, Kansas, and
Furnas and Harlan counties, Nebraska.
Buildings and houses swayed;
dishes and windows rattled; people ran
out of their houses.
A damaging earthquake centered
near El Reno, Oklahoma on April 9,
1952, affected a total area of
140,000 square miles, including all
of the eastern half of Kansas. The
magnitude 5.5 shock was felt in Kansas most
strongly (intensity V) at Medicine
Lodge; intensity V effects were also
observed at Kansas City.
On January 6, 1956, minor damage
occurred at Coats, Coldwater,
Medicine Lodge, and Wilmore,
Kansas, and Alva, Oklahoma. The
damage was limited to loosened
bricks, cracked plaster and chimneys,
and objects knocked from walls
and shelves. Many observers
reported being shaken from their
beds by the shock a few minutes before
6 a.m. The total felt area covered
approximately 16,000 square miles.
Another felt earthquake
with an epicenter in Kansas occurred
April 13, 1961. The area affected
was about the same as that from
the 1933 tremor, principally Norton
County, Kansas, and Furnas County,
Nebraska. Intensity V was the maximum
reported from this region.
The November 9, 1968, earthquake
centered in southern Illinois was
felt moderately throughout the
eastern portion of Kansas. All or
parts of 23 states were affected by this
magnitude 5.3 shock.
Abridged from
Earthquake Information Bulletin,
Volume 4, Number 6, November - December 1972.
Kansas
