QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5md

Earthquake near Ridgely, TN

No earthquake was likely felt in Ridgely in the 24 hours to 10:07 am CST (16:07 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 3 km (2 mi) NNE, at 9:02 pm CDT on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Ridgely

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) south-southeast of Ridgely, TN, at 5:59 pm CDT on 28 October 2018 (22:59 UTC), 9.3 km deep.

USGS: 6 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee

5:59 pm CDT, Oct 28, 2018 · · 9.3 km deep · released about 6.2 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lake County 14 kmDyer County 18 kmPemiscot County 29 kmObion County 33 kmFulton County 46 kmNew Madrid County 47 kmLauderdale County 51 kmCrockett County 52 kmGibson County 53 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
5:59 pm CDT on 28 October 2018 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) south-southeast of Ridgely, TN · earthquakes near Ridgely
Magnitude
M 1.5 (md)
Depth
9.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lake County, 14 km N
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 2935 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 Ridgely, 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: Caruthersville, Tiptonville, Dyersburg, Newbern, Obion, Hayti.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.2 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 36.2053, -89.4597. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lake County, TN 14 km (9 mi) N earthquakes near Lake County
Dyer County, TN 18 km (11 mi) SSE earthquakes near Dyer County
Pemiscot County, MO 29 km (18 mi) W earthquakes near Pemiscot County
Obion County, TN 33 km (20 mi) ENE earthquakes near Obion County
Fulton County, KY 46 km (28 mi) NNE earthquakes near Fulton County
New Madrid County, MO 47 km (29 mi) NNW earthquakes near New Madrid 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. 2.1 0 km NNW of Cooter, Missouri
  2. 2.6 9 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  3. 2.2 9 km SE of Marston, Missouri
  4. 2.2 7 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
  5. 1.6 3 km WNW of Ridgely, Tennessee
  6. 2.0 11 km NW of Dyersburg, Tennessee
  7. 1.7 3 km WNW of Marston, Missouri
  8. 1.6 5 km NNW of Ridgely, Tennessee
  9. 1.6 7 km ESE of Marston, Missouri
  10. 1.6 6 km NW of Ridgely, Tennessee
  11. 1.6 13 km WNW of Newbern, Tennessee
  12. 1.8 7 km SE of Marston, Missouri
  13. 2.1 4 km E of Marston, Missouri
  14. 1.5 4 km SW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  15. 2.2 4 km E of Steele, 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.