Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5md
Earthquake near Charleston, MO
No earthquake was likely felt in Charleston in the 24 hours to 4:15 pm CST (22:15 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 220 km (137 mi) NNE, at 2:05 am CDT on 29 June 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 392 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Charleston
This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) east-southeast of Charleston, MO, at 1:52 pm CST on 21 January 2017 (19:52 UTC), 6.5 km deep.
USGS: 9 km W of Bardwell, Kentucky
- When
- 1:52 pm CST on 21 January 2017 ()
- Where
- 21 km (13 mi) east-southeast of Charleston, MO · earthquakes near Charleston
- Kentucky today
- every earthquake in Kentucky in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (md)
- Depth
- 6.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Carlisle County, 13 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Reelfoot scarp and New Madrid seismic zone, 5 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 3501 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Charleston, MO
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Charleston, MO. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 45 km (28 mi) from the epicentre. In Charleston, 21 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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: Charleston 21 km, intensity II · East Prairie 27 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 160 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 92,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 65,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.8× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 160 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 36.8825, -89.1137. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlisle County, KY | 13 km (8 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Carlisle County |
| Mississippi County, MO | 17 km (11 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Mississippi County |
| Ballard County, KY | 21 km (13 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Ballard County |
| Hickman County, KY | 26 km (16 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Hickman County |
| Pulaski County, IL | 37 km (23 mi) | N | earthquakes near Pulaski County |
| Fulton County, KY | 37 km (23 mi) | S | earthquakes near Fulton County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
16 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 4 km SW of Bardwell, KY
- 2.3 10 km SSE of Matthews, Missouri
- 1.6 southeastern Missouri
- 1.7 8 km ESE of Matthews, Missouri
- 3.3 9 km ESE of Wyatt, Missouri
- 2.7 4 km SSW of Cairo, Illinois
- 1.8 8 km N of New Madrid, Missouri
- 2.2 9 km W of Bardwell, Kentucky
- 3.2 9 km ESE of Wyatt, Missouri
- 2.1 8 km NE of North Lilbourn, Missouri
- 2.3 9 km W of Bardwell, Kentucky
- 2.6 9 km W of Bardwell, Kentucky
- 3.6 9 km ESE of Wyatt, Missouri
- 1.7 5 km E of Matthews, Missouri
- 2.2 4 km S of La Center, Kentucky
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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.