Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Blytheville, AR
No earthquake was likely felt in Blytheville in the 24 hours to 7:03 am CST (13:03 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 10 km (6 mi) NNE, at 8:56 pm CDT on 17 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Blytheville
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 6 km (3 mi) north-northeast of Blytheville, AR, at 1:14 am CST on 5 December 2017 (07:14 UTC), 10 km deep.
USGS: 5 km NNE of Blytheville, Arkansas
97 km (60 mi) N of Memphis, TN
- When
- 1:14 am CST on 5 December 2017 ()
- Where
- 6 km (3 mi) north-northeast of Blytheville, AR · earthquakes near Blytheville
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 10 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Dunklin County, 24 km NW
- 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 3263 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Blytheville, AR
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Blytheville, AR. 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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 37 km (23 mi) from the epicentre. In Blytheville, 6 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: Blytheville 6 km, intensity III · Steele 14 km, intensity II · Manila 26 km, intensity II · Caruthersville 33 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 91 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 170,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 120,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 10× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 91 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 35.9760, -89.9068. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dunklin County, MO | 24 km (15 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Dunklin County |
| Mississippi County, AR | 27 km (17 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Mississippi County |
| Pemiscot County, MO | 28 km (18 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Pemiscot County |
| Lauderdale County, TN | 35 km (21 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Lauderdale County |
| Dyer County, TN | 47 km (29 mi) | E | earthquakes near Dyer County |
| Lake County, TN | 55 km (34 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Lake County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
43 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 6 km NW of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.8 2 km NNE of Cooter, Missouri
- 1.7 6 km NW of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.9 3 km SSW of Caruthersville, Missouri
- 2.1 6 km NW of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.5 2 km NW of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.7 7 km S of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.6 0 km WSW of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 2.7 7 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
- 1.8 7 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
- 1.7 8 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 2.2 5 km N of Blytheville, Arkansas
- 1.9 9 km SW of Caruthersville, Missouri
- 1.7 7 km ENE of Etowah, Arkansas
- 2.0 7 km ENE of Etowah, Arkansas
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.