Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5md
Earthquake near Cape Girardeau, MO
No earthquake was likely felt in Cape Girardeau in the 24 hours to 4:31 am CST (10:31 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 195 km (121 mi) NE, at 2:05 am CDT on 29 June 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 392 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Cape Girardeau
This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 27 km (17 mi) west-southwest of Cape Girardeau, MO, at 3:12 am CST on 30 January 2017 (09:12 UTC), 15 km deep. 19 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4 km WSW of Delta, Missouri
- When
- 3:12 am CST on 30 January 2017 ()
- Where
- 27 km (17 mi) west-southwest of Cape Girardeau, MO · earthquakes near Cape Girardeau
- Missouri today
- every earthquake in Missouri in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (md)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- 19 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Scott County, 24 km SE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Faults of Thebes Gap area, 13 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 3485 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Cape Girardeau, MO
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Cape Girardeau, 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 42 km (26 mi) from the epicentre. In Cape Girardeau, 27 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Chaffee, Advance, Oran, Marble Hill, Scott City, Jackson.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 150 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 5.8 100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 72,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 150 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 37.1805, -89.7812. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scott County, MO | 24 km (15 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Scott County |
| Cape Girardeau County, MO | 24 km (15 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Cape Girardeau County |
| Bollinger County, MO | 26 km (16 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Bollinger County |
| Alexander County, IL | 38 km (24 mi) | E | earthquakes near Alexander County |
| Stoddard County, MO | 39 km (25 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Stoddard County |
| Pulaski County, IL | 58 km (36 mi) | E | earthquakes near Pulaski County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
27 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 12 km ENE of Greenville, Missouri
- 1.8 6 km S of Bertrand, Missouri
- 1.9 6 km WNW of Cape Girardeau, Missouri
- 2.6 5 km SW of Puxico, Missouri
- 1.6 11 km WNW of Jonesboro, Illinois
- 3.1 4 km S of Puxico, Missouri
- 1.7 5 km SSE of Bertrand, Missouri
- 2.1 4 km N of Marquand, Missouri
- 2.0 3 km ESE of Dexter, Missouri
- 2.3 5 km SSW of Charleston, Missouri
- 1.6 3 km WNW of Mill Creek, Illinois
- 2.1 1 km WSW of Mill Creek, Illinois
- 1.9 4 km SSE of Bertrand, Missouri
- 1.9 3 km SE of Bertrand, Missouri
- 2.0 3 km SSW of McClure, Illinois
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.