QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

southeastern Missouri

Yes. A magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded in southeastern Missouri, at 8:51 am CDT on 19 July 2016 (13:51 UTC), 7.1 km deep.

· 7.1 km deep · released about 43 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lake County 15 kmDyer County 20 kmPemiscot County 25 kmObion County 37 kmNew Madrid County 45 kmFulton County 48 kmDunklin County 50 kmLauderdale County 50 kmCrockett County 55 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
Missouri today
every earthquake in Missouri in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
7.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lake County, 15 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Reelfoot scarp and New Madrid seismic zone, under 1 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3767 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 28 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Likely felt in: Caruthersville 13 km, intensity II · Tiptonville 20 km, intensity II · Dyersburg 22 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 36.2043, -89.5127. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lake County, TN 15 km (9 mi) N earthquakes near Lake County
Dyer County, TN 20 km (12 mi) SSE earthquakes near Dyer County
Pemiscot County, MO 25 km (15 mi) W earthquakes near Pemiscot County
Obion County, TN 37 km (23 mi) ENE earthquakes near Obion County
New Madrid County, MO 45 km (28 mi) NNW earthquakes near New Madrid County
Fulton County, KY 48 km (30 mi) NE earthquakes near Fulton County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 3.3 5 km SW of Caruthersville, Missouri
  2. 2.0 2 km NNW of Marston, Missouri
  3. 2.4 5 km S of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  4. 1.5 12 km SE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  5. 2.2 2 km NW of Blytheville, Arkansas
  6. 1.5 6 km ESE of Marston, Missouri
  7. 1.5 9 km SE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  8. 1.7 8 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  9. 1.8 5 km NNW of New Madrid, Missouri
  10. 2.3 5 km NNE of Blytheville, Arkansas
  11. 1.8 10 km N of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  12. 1.6 10 km N of Dyersburg, Tennessee
  13. 2.1 10 km N of Dyersburg, Tennessee
  14. 2.0 0 km S of Blytheville, Arkansas
  15. 1.5 7 km S of Ridgely, Tennessee

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.