Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.6mw
Earthquake near Caruthersville, MO
No earthquake was likely felt in Caruthersville in the 24 hours to 2:25 am CST (08:25 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 3.6 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) southwest of Caruthersville, MO, at 10:57 am CST on 16 January 2018 (16:57 UTC), 9.4 km deep. 107 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4 km SW of Caruthersville, Missouri
- When
- 10:57 am CST on 16 January 2018 ()
- Where
- 4 km (3 mi) southwest of Caruthersville, MO · earthquakes near Caruthersville
- Missouri today
- every earthquake in Missouri in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 3.6 (mw)
- Depth
- 9.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 107 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Pemiscot County, 10 km WNW
- 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 1081 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Caruthersville, MO
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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 351 km (218 mi) from the epicentre. In Caruthersville, 4 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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 4 km, intensity IV · Steele 16 km, intensity IV · Portageville 29 km, intensity III · Dyersburg 31 km, intensity III · Tiptonville 31 km, intensity III · Blytheville 34 km, intensity III · New Madrid 49 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 4.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 39,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.6 about 4.3 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 9.1× 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 36.1632, -89.6860. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pemiscot County, MO | 10 km (6 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Pemiscot County |
| Lake County, TN | 26 km (16 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Dyer County, TN | 29 km (18 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Dyer County |
| Dunklin County, MO | 34 km (21 mi) | W | earthquakes near Dunklin County |
| Lauderdale County, TN | 45 km (28 mi) | S | earthquakes near Lauderdale County |
| New Madrid County, MO | 48 km (30 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
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 8 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.7 7 km NW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
- 2.2 5 km N of Blytheville, Arkansas
- 2.3 5 km WNW of Marston, Missouri
- 1.9 9 km SW of Caruthersville, Missouri
- 2.4 8 km SSE of Marston, Missouri
- 2.1 4 km E of Risco, Missouri
- 1.9 2 km WSW of Howardville, Missouri
- 1.7 7 km SE of Marston, Missouri
- 1.6 7 km E of Hayward, Missouri
- 1.5 2 km WSW of Howardville, Missouri
- 2.3 3 km ESE of Howardville, Missouri
- 1.6 7 km SE of Marston, Missouri
- 2.3 4 km SSE of Marston, Missouri
- 2.2 11 km SSE of New Madrid, 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
- 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.