QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

9 km NE of Caruthersville, MO

Yes. A magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 9 km NE of Caruthersville, MO, at 6:16 pm CDT on 21 April 2018 (23:16 UTC), 5.6 km deep. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

· 5.6 km deep · released about 180 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pemiscot County 10 kmDunklin County 30 kmDyer County 31 kmLake County 31 kmLauderdale County 42 kmMississippi County 50 kmNew Madrid County 52 kmObion County 58 kmCrockett County 64 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
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
5.6 km below the surface
Felt
5 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Pemiscot County, 10 km NNW
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 3040 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 46 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. 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 9 km, intensity III · Steele 11 km, intensity III · Blytheville 29 km, intensity II · Dyersburg 32 km, intensity II · Portageville 33 km, intensity II · Tiptonville 36 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 180 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 86,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 61,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 180 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.

Where

Epicentre 36.1320, -89.7238. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pemiscot County, MO 10 km (6 mi) NNW earthquakes near Pemiscot County
Dunklin County, MO 30 km (19 mi) W earthquakes near Dunklin County
Dyer County, TN 31 km (19 mi) ESE earthquakes near Dyer County
Lake County, TN 31 km (19 mi) NE earthquakes near Lake County
Lauderdale County, TN 42 km (26 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lauderdale County
Mississippi County, AR 50 km (31 mi) SW earthquakes near Mississippi 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. 2.0 7 km SSW of Caruthersville, Missouri
  2. 1.5 7 km E of Hayward, Missouri
  3. 1.7 4 km SW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  4. 2.1 10 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  5. 1.7 5 km NW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  6. 1.9 6 km SE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  7. 1.8 5 km SE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  8. 1.6 5 km SE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  9. 1.5 5 km SE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  10. 1.7 6 km S of Ridgely, Tennessee
  11. 1.6 3 km W of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  12. 1.7 6 km NW of Ridgely, Tennessee
  13. 1.6 3 km W of Howardville, Missouri
  14. 1.7 7 km WNW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  15. 1.8 2 km NNE of Cooter, 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

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