Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near La Center, KY
No earthquake was likely felt in La Center in the 24 hours to 8:40 am CST (14:40 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 17 km (11 mi) E, at 11:35 pm CDT on 19 August 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 66 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near La Center
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) southeast of La Center, KY, at 11:31 am CDT on 23 August 2018 (16:31 UTC), 14 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km SE of La Center, Kentucky
- When
- 11:31 am CDT on 23 August 2018 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) southeast of La Center, KY · earthquakes near La Center
- Kentucky today
- every earthquake in Kentucky in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- 3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Ballard County, 8 km WNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- St. Louis-Cape Girardeau liquefaction features, 21 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 2932 days ago
Earthquake alerts for La Center, KY
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near La Center, KY. 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 32 km (20 mi) from the epicentre. In La Center, 7 km away, the estimate is intensity II (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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Massac, Metropolis, Cairo, Hendron, Paducah.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 74 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 5.8 200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 140,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 13× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 74 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 37.0283, -88.9245. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballard County, KY | 8 km (5 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Ballard County |
| McCracken County, KY | 19 km (12 mi) | E | earthquakes near McCracken County |
| Carlisle County, KY | 20 km (12 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Carlisle County |
| Pulaski County, IL | 28 km (17 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Pulaski County |
| Massac County, IL | 29 km (18 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Massac County |
| Hickman County, KY | 39 km (24 mi) | S | earthquakes near Hickman County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
32 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.5 6 km NW of Massac, Kentucky
- 1.7 5 km SSE of Bertrand, Missouri
- 1.9 3 km SSE of Pinhook, Missouri
- 2.0 3 km NE of Ullin, Illinois
- 2.4 2 km NNE of Wilson City, Missouri
- 2.3 5 km SSW of Charleston, Missouri
- 1.6 3 km WNW of Mill Creek, Illinois
- 1.9 5 km ENE of Kevil, Kentucky
- 2.1 1 km WSW of Mill Creek, Illinois
- 1.9 4 km SSE of Bertrand, Missouri
- 2.2 4 km ENE of Olmsted, Illinois
- 1.9 3 km SE of Bertrand, Missouri
- 1.6 Illinois-Kentucky border region
- 1.8 5 km NNE of Bandana, Kentucky
- 2.6 3 km ENE of Wilson City, 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.