QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Poplar Bluff, MO

USGS: 4 km NNW of Fairdealing, Missouri

2:09 pm CST, Nov 11, 2020 · · 19 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ripley County 21 kmButler County 22 kmCarter County 38 kmClay County 42 kmWayne County 49 kmRandolph County 53 kmStoddard County 64 kmGreene County 65 kmOregon County 68 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
2:09 pm CST on 11 November 2020 ()
Where
23 km (14 mi) WSW of Poplar Bluff, MO · earthquakes near Poplar Bluff
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ripley County, 21 km WSW
Nearest mapped fault
Western Lowlands liquefaction features, 20 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 2150 days ago

A magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) WSW of Poplar Bluff, MO, at 2:09 pm CST on 11 November 2020 (20:09 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Doniphan.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 36.7015, -90.6448. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ripley County, MO 21 km (13 mi) WSW earthquakes near Ripley County
Butler County, MO 22 km (13 mi) E earthquakes near Butler County
Carter County, MO 38 km (24 mi) NW earthquakes near Carter County
Clay County, AR 42 km (26 mi) SSE earthquakes near Clay County
Wayne County, MO 49 km (30 mi) NNE earthquakes near Wayne County
Randolph County, AR 53 km (33 mi) SW earthquakes near Randolph County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 14 km SE of Ellsinore, Missouri
  2. 2.9 14 km SSW of Williamsville, Missouri
  3. 2.4 7 km W of Williamsville, Missouri
  4. 2.6 12 km E of Williamsville, Missouri
  5. 1.8 9 km W of Maynard, Arkansas
  6. 2.2 4 km SSE of Maynard, Arkansas
  7. 2.6 5 km SW of Puxico, Missouri
  8. 3.1 4 km S of Puxico, Missouri
  9. 2.9 12 km WSW of Grandin, Missouri
  10. 2.2 13 km W of Maynard, Arkansas
  11. 2.5 13 km SSW of Williamsville, Missouri
  12. 2.5 4 km E of Doniphan, Missouri
  13. 2.7 5 km E of Doniphan, Missouri
  14. 2.3 9 km ESE of Williamsville, Missouri
  15. 2.7 4 km ENE of Grandin, Missouri

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.