Residents of Western Kansas felt the rumble of a 4.5 magnitude earthquake Saturday morning, one strong enough to have been felt in northeast Oklahoma.
The U.S. Geological Survey recorded the event at 3:50 a.m. and indicated its epicenter was 3.8 miles southeast of the Rooks county town of Zurich and 4 miles west of Plainville.
The epicenter was also located about 23 miles north of Hays, a city located along Interstate 70.
Reports indicated the quake was felt as far away as Claremore in northeast Oklahoma and Fairview in northern Oklahoma. Others who live in Omaha, Nebraska and Loveland, Colorado also felt the quake.
A Facebook post shortly after the quake by the Rooks County Sheriff’s Office had a picture of the department’s police dog and read “K9 Koda just rode out his scariest Earthquake EVER in Rooks County, Koda wants to know who else woke up, felt it, and where you were at when it happened?” according to the Hays Daily News.
Scores of posters on that account and many others in the early hours responded saying they felt the quake during a rain storm over the area of Webster Lake and Plainville. They reported feeling their windows rattle and their beds shake, and initially wondered if it was a tornado.
“I was asleep,” posted Karen Baldwin. “It closed all the inside doors and knocked pictures off the walls.”
“Definitely a big one felt in Palco!” posted Pat Lowry Rudman.
“Solomon valley manor in Stockton working,” posted Judy Wallace-Cantor. “1st thought it was a tornado then realized it was a earthquake.”
“Hays,” said Jake Haberman. “Felt and sounded like a flying tree hit the house.”
“Woke us up in Hill City,” said Phyllis Weller.
Donald W. Glick Jr., who may have been one of the closest posters to the quake, reported “Sleeping at 720 w rd Zurich, got woke up and thought lightning hit a tree or a tree fell against the house.”
Justin McCune posted “Woke me up. Thought it was a down burst or something from the storm whole house shook like crazy.”
“I’m picking stuff up off the floor in Zurich,” posted Brian Minks.
“Heard a slight rumble just before the house started shaking here in Victoria!” said Derek Nelson. Andy Tincknell replied, “weird. I’m in Hays and we heard the rumble just after it stopped. I’m really curious about that.”
“Scared me when my bed started shaking and things moving on the dresser and walls,” said Mavis Pianalto.
Kurt Hueneke reported “I was hunting Graboids between Plainville & Zurich this morning.”
Smaller earthquakes were reported in Ellis, Russell and Rooks counties on Thursday and Friday. A 3.3 was reported northwest of Plainville at 5:49 a.m. Friday; a 2.5 was recorded at 5:06 a.m. Friday in Russell County south of Gorham; and a 2.5 at about 2 a.m. about 10 miles east of U.S. Highway 183 along the Saline River in Ellis County just a few miles south of the border with Rooks County.
- 3.0 km
