If you have been in Wichita in the last couple months, odds are you felt one or more of the earthquakes. This seems unusual for most people. Growing up around here, I don’t really remember ever feeling earthquakes, let alone multiple in a short period of days, weeks, or months.
The end of 2020 brought a lot of earthquakes. The chart below from the USGS website shows 24 earthquakes in the Wichita area from November 1, 2020 to January 14, 2021.
It is interesting that all of the earthquakes are on the east side of Wichita (insert applause from the west siders).
The specific cause of these earthquakes is unknown. The Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) completed an investigation and concluded that these earthquakes are not caused by oil and gas activities.
The next cause that has been looked into is the fault lines in the area. Wichita does lie along the Nemaha uplift and the Humboldt fault zone.
Dr. Mazzullo, a retired WSU geology professor, believes there may be some previously unrecognized faults in the area. Here is the location of those potential faults in east Wichita:
As more information is released, we will continue to compile it.
