Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.2md
Earthquake near Portageville, MO
No earthquake was likely felt in Portageville in the 24 hours to 2:24 am CST (08:24 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 17 km (11 mi) SE, at 2:20 pm CDT on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Portageville
This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) east-northeast of Portageville, MO, at 10:18 am CDT on 18 August 2017 (15:18 UTC), 13 km deep. 29 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 8 km SSE of Marston, Missouri
- When
- 10:18 am CDT on 18 August 2017 ()
- Where
- 10 km (6 mi) east-northeast of Portageville, MO · earthquakes near Portageville
- Missouri today
- every earthquake in Missouri in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 3.2 (md)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 29 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Nearest
- Lake County, 16 km SE
- 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 1557 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Portageville, MO
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Portageville, 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 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 180 km (112 mi) from the epicentre. In Portageville, 10 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: Portageville 10 km, intensity III · Tiptonville 13 km, intensity III · New Madrid 17 km, intensity III · Caruthersville 29 km, intensity III · Malden 36 km, intensity III · East Prairie 41 km, intensity III · Steele 46 km, intensity III · Dyersburg 49 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,800 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 190,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 8,500× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 6,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,800 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.9× more
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 36.4465, -89.5915. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County, TN | 16 km (10 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Lake County |
| New Madrid County, MO | 17 km (11 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near New Madrid County |
| Pemiscot County, MO | 32 km (20 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Pemiscot County |
| Fulton County, KY | 38 km (24 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Fulton County |
| Obion County, TN | 41 km (25 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Obion County |
| Dyer County, TN | 47 km (29 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Dyer 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.
- 1.6 6 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.8 10 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
- 1.9 0 km NW of Howardville, Missouri
- 1.8 5 km E of Steele, Missouri
- 1.7 11 km WNW of Newbern, Tennessee
- 1.7 0 km WNW of Howardville, Missouri
- 2.4 3 km NNW of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.5 0 km NNW of Howardville, Missouri
- 2.1 7 km SE of Marston, Missouri
- 1.5 2 km WNW of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.9 9 km NNW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
- 2.3 5 km WNW of Marston, Missouri
- 2.3 5 km WSW of Pinhook, Missouri
- 1.6 6 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.6 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
- 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.