4.6 magnitude earthquake shakes ground near Hutchinson. Did you feel it?

A 4.6 magnitude earthquake shook the ground near South Hutchinson Sunday afternoon, geologists said.

The U.S. Geological Survey reported the earthquake at around 1:08 p.m. about a mile west to southwest of the town in Reno County. The USGS initially recorded the quake as a 4.4 magnitude, but the Kansas Geological Survey later reported it was a 4.6 magnitude.

Geologists ask those who felt the ground shake to report it online. A USGS map shows the quake was felt in Wichita, Dodge City, Hays, Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Lincoln and elsewhere.

The earthquake struck as the Kansas Corporation Commission investigates the cause of a swarm of 17 earthquakes in five days in August the same area of central Kansas. The regulatory agency’s investigation is focused on the underground disposal of oilfield waste that’s been blamed for quakes elsewhere in southern Kansas.

Sunday’s earthquake was the 50th quake recorded in Reno County since January 2019, according to Kansas Geological Survey data. All but two of the temblors were recorded within three miles of each other, centered in the same area as Sunday’s tremors.

At 4.6 magnitude, Sunday’s earthquake is tied with one of the August quakes for the second-strongest earthquake in Kansas of the past year. The strongest was a 4.8 magnitude in Rooks County in June.

This story was originally published January 19, 2020 at 1:55 PM with the headline "4.6 magnitude earthquake shakes ground near Hutchinson. Did you feel it?."