Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.3mw
Earthquake near Charleston, MO
No earthquake was likely felt in Charleston in the 24 hours to 2:25 am CST (08:25 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 3.3 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) east-southeast of Charleston, MO, at 5:21 am CDT on 16 May 2017 (10:21 UTC), 9.1 km deep. 86 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9 km ESE of Wyatt, Missouri
- When
- 5:21 am CDT on 16 May 2017 ()
- Where
- 21 km (13 mi) east-southeast of Charleston, MO · earthquakes near Charleston
- Missouri today
- every earthquake in Missouri in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 3.3 (mw)
- Depth
- 9.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 86 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Carlisle County, 13 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- Reelfoot scarp and New Madrid seismic zone, 4 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
Earthquake alerts for Charleston, 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 217 km (135 mi) from the epicentre. In Charleston, 21 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: Charleston 21 km, intensity III · East Prairie 26 km, intensity III · New Madrid 48 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.2 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 140,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 6,500× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,600× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.2 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.5× 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 36.8730, -89.1217. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlisle County, KY | 13 km (8 mi) | E | earthquakes near Carlisle County |
| Mississippi County, MO | 16 km (10 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Mississippi County |
| Ballard County, KY | 22 km (14 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Ballard County |
| Hickman County, KY | 26 km (16 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Hickman County |
| Fulton County, KY | 36 km (22 mi) | S | earthquakes near Fulton County |
| Pulaski County, IL | 38 km (24 mi) | N | earthquakes near Pulaski County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
7 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 5 km WSW of Pinhook, Missouri
- 1.6 9 km SE of Matthews, Missouri
- 2.1 10 km N of New Madrid, Missouri
- 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
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.