QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Caruthersville, MO

No earthquake was likely felt in Caruthersville in the 24 hours to 7:02 am CST (13:02 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 19 km (12 mi) NNE, at 2:20 pm CDT on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Caruthersville

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) southwest of Caruthersville, MO, at 9:04 pm CDT on 16 July 2016 (02:04 UTC), 8.2 km deep.

USGS: 8 km SW of Caruthersville, Missouri

9:04 pm CDT, Jul 16, 2016 · · 8.2 km deep · released about 190 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pemiscot County 10 kmLake County 30 kmDyer County 30 kmDunklin County 31 kmLauderdale County 43 kmNew Madrid County 51 kmMississippi County 51 kmObion County 57 kmCrockett County 63 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
9:04 pm CDT on 16 July 2016 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) southwest of Caruthersville, MO · earthquakes near Caruthersville
Missouri today
every earthquake in Missouri in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
8.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Pemiscot County, 10 km NW
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 3708 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 47 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In Caruthersville, 8 km away, the estimate is intensity III (weak). 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 8 km, intensity III · Steele 12 km, intensity III · Blytheville 30 km, intensity II · Dyersburg 32 km, intensity II · Portageville 32 km, intensity II · Tiptonville 34 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 190 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 80,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 57,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.1× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 190 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 36.1385, -89.7157. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pemiscot County, MO 10 km (6 mi) NW earthquakes near Pemiscot County
Lake County, TN 30 km (19 mi) NE earthquakes near Lake County
Dyer County, TN 30 km (19 mi) ESE earthquakes near Dyer County
Dunklin County, MO 31 km (19 mi) W earthquakes near Dunklin County
Lauderdale County, TN 43 km (26 mi) S earthquakes near Lauderdale County
New Madrid County, MO 51 km (32 mi) N earthquakes near New Madrid County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

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