QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Blytheville, AR

No earthquake was likely felt in Blytheville in the 24 hours to 5:08 am CST (11:08 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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) southwest of Blytheville, AR, at 9:53 am CDT on 19 March 2019 (14:53 UTC), 4.3 km deep.

USGS: 2 km ESE of Dell, Arkansas

82 km (51 mi) N of Memphis, TN

9:53 am CDT, Mar 19, 2019 · · 4.3 km deep · released about 10 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mississippi County 10 kmDunklin County 34 kmLauderdale County 36 kmPemiscot County 45 kmTipton County 46 kmCraighead County 56 kmGreene County 58 kmDyer County 60 kmPoinsett County 68 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
9:53 am CDT on 19 March 2019 ()
Where
12 km (8 mi) southwest of Blytheville, AR · earthquakes near Blytheville
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
4.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mississippi County, 10 km SSW
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 2794 days ago

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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Blytheville, 12 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: Luxora, Gosnell, Manila, Osceola, Leachville, Caraway.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 10 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 95× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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 35.8478, -90.0133. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mississippi County, AR 10 km (6 mi) SSW earthquakes near Mississippi County
Dunklin County, MO 34 km (21 mi) N earthquakes near Dunklin County
Lauderdale County, TN 36 km (22 mi) ESE earthquakes near Lauderdale County
Pemiscot County, MO 45 km (28 mi) NNE earthquakes near Pemiscot County
Tipton County, TN 46 km (28 mi) SSE earthquakes near Tipton County
Craighead County, AR 56 km (35 mi) W earthquakes near Craighead County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 2 km NNW of Blytheville, Arkansas
  2. 2.2 8 km SE of Cooter, Missouri
  3. 2.3 2 km W of Cooter, Missouri
  4. 2.0 6 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
  5. 1.7 8 km W of Victoria, Arkansas
  6. 2.2 4 km E of Steele, Missouri
  7. 1.7 2 km SSE of Caruthersville, Missouri
  8. 1.9 2 km SSW of Blytheville, Arkansas
  9. 1.6 2 km W of Cooter, Missouri
  10. 1.6 6 km SW of Caruthersville, Missouri
  11. 1.8 0 km NNW of Cooter, Missouri
  12. 1.7 4 km SW of Caruthersville, Missouri
  13. 1.9 6 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
  14. 1.8 7 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
  15. 2.2 4 km ESE 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.