QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near Lilbourn, MO

No earthquake was likely felt in Lilbourn in the 24 hours to 7:34 am CST (13:34 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 29 km (18 mi) SSE, at 2:20 pm CDT on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Lilbourn

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) south-southeast of Lilbourn, MO, at 7:56 am CDT on 14 May 2017 (12:56 UTC), 14 km deep. 24 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 0 km SSE of Howardville, Missouri

7:56 am CDT, May 14, 2017 · · 14 km deep · released about 1,000 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N New Madrid County 6 kmLake County 28 kmFulton County 37 kmMississippi County 40 kmPemiscot County 43 kmStoddard County 45 kmObion County 46 kmScott County 54 kmHickman County 57 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
7:56 am CDT on 14 May 2017 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) south-southeast of Lilbourn, MO · earthquakes near Lilbourn
Missouri today
every earthquake in Missouri in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
24 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
New Madrid County, 6 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 3385 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 73 km (45 mi) from the epicentre. In Lilbourn, 3 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: New Madrid 7 km, intensity III · Portageville 18 km, intensity III · Tiptonville 24 km, intensity III · East Prairie 31 km, intensity III · Malden 33 km, intensity III · Caruthersville 42 km, intensity II · Charleston 45 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,000 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 330,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 15,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 10,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,000 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 36.5640, -89.5990. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
New Madrid County, MO 6 km (4 mi) WNW earthquakes near New Madrid County
Lake County, TN 28 km (17 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lake County
Fulton County, KY 37 km (23 mi) E earthquakes near Fulton County
Mississippi County, MO 40 km (25 mi) NE earthquakes near Mississippi County
Pemiscot County, MO 43 km (27 mi) SSW earthquakes near Pemiscot County
Stoddard County, MO 45 km (28 mi) NW earthquakes near Stoddard County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 7 km ESE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  2. 2.0 4 km WSW of Howardville, Missouri
  3. 1.9 2 km WNW of Marston, Missouri
  4. 2.1 2 km NW of Marston, Missouri
  5. 2.3 4 km WSW of Howardville, Missouri
  6. 1.6 4 km NNW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  7. 1.7 4 km NW of Marston, Missouri
  8. 1.7 4 km WSW of Howardville, Missouri
  9. 2.9 4 km WSW of Howardville, Missouri
  10. 2.7 5 km ESE of Marston, Missouri
  11. 2.2 2 km NW of Marston, Missouri
  12. 1.5 8 km NW of Ridgely, Tennessee
  13. 3.2 8 km SSE of Marston, Missouri
  14. 2.3 10 km SSE of Matthews, Missouri
  15. 2.9 5 km WNW of Tiptonville, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.