Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Missouri-Illinois border region
Yes. A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded in the Missouri-Illinois border region, at 4:59 pm CDT on 22 March 2020 (21:59 UTC), 13 km deep. 23 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 23 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Cape Girardeau County, 16 km W
- Nearest mapped fault
- St. Louis-Cape Girardeau liquefaction features, 10 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 2349 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Cape Girardeau, MO
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Cape Girardeau, MO. 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 35 km (22 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Scott City, Jonesboro, Chaffee, Anna.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 85 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 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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.
Where
Epicentre 37.3620, -89.5047. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Girardeau County, MO | 16 km (10 mi) | W | earthquakes near Cape Girardeau County |
| Alexander County, IL | 24 km (15 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Alexander County |
| Union County, IL | 27 km (17 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Union County |
| Scott County, MO | 35 km (22 mi) | S | earthquakes near Scott County |
| Pulaski County, IL | 37 km (23 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Pulaski County |
| Bollinger County, MO | 46 km (29 mi) | W | earthquakes near Bollinger County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
11 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 6 km WNW of Cape Girardeau, Missouri
- 1.6 11 km WNW of Jonesboro, Illinois
- 2.0 3 km NE of Ullin, Illinois
- 1.6 3 km WNW of Mill Creek, Illinois
- 2.1 1 km WSW of Mill Creek, Illinois
- 2.2 4 km ENE of Olmsted, Illinois
- 1.9 4 km WNW of Barlow, Kentucky
- 2.0 3 km SSW of McClure, Illinois
- 2.0 3 km WSW of Cape Girardeau, Missouri
- 1.7 5 km NW of Cape Girardeau, Missouri
- 1.8 8 km NE of Longtown, 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.