QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Dyersburg, TN

No earthquake was likely felt in Dyersburg in the 24 hours to 8:42 am CST (14:42 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 21 km (13 mi) NNE, at 11:37 am CDT on 19 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Dyersburg

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) northwest of Dyersburg, TN, at 6:48 pm CDT on 7 September 2018 (23:48 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 11 km NW of Dyersburg, Tennessee

6:48 pm CDT, Sep 7, 2018 · · 14 km deep · released about 8.1 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dyer County 9 kmLake County 24 kmPemiscot County 31 kmObion County 39 kmLauderdale County 42 kmCrockett County 44 kmGibson County 49 kmDunklin County 54 kmFulton County 54 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
6:48 pm CDT on 7 September 2018 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) northwest of Dyersburg, TN · earthquakes near Dyersburg
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Dyer County, 9 km SE
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 2986 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Dyersburg, 11 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: Ridgely, Newbern, Caruthersville, Halls, Obion, Hayti.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.1 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 36.1162, -89.4607. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dyer County, TN 9 km (6 mi) SE earthquakes near Dyer County
Lake County, TN 24 km (15 mi) N earthquakes near Lake County
Pemiscot County, MO 31 km (19 mi) WNW earthquakes near Pemiscot County
Obion County, TN 39 km (24 mi) NE earthquakes near Obion County
Lauderdale County, TN 42 km (26 mi) SSW earthquakes near Lauderdale County
Crockett County, TN 44 km (28 mi) SE earthquakes near Crockett County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 3 km E of Ridgely, Tennessee
  2. 2.9 9 km NW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  3. 3.1 9 km NW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  4. 1.7 5 km E of Steele, Missouri
  5. 1.7 8 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  6. 2.3 10 km N of Dyersburg, Tennessee
  7. 2.4 1 km NW of Cooter, Missouri
  8. 1.7 3 km NW of Ridgely, Tennessee
  9. 1.6 3 km E of Ridgely, Tennessee
  10. 1.7 3 km SE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  11. 2.2 8 km NW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  12. 2.6 0 km W of Blytheville, Arkansas
  13. 1.5 6 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  14. 1.6 2 km NNE of Marston, Missouri
  15. 1.5 6 km E of Marston, 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.