QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5md

southeastern Missouri

Yes. A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded in southeastern Missouri, at 1:25 am CDT on 27 October 2020 (06:25 UTC), 8.5 km deep.

· 8.5 km deep · released about 6.2 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dyer County 8 kmLake County 25 kmObion County 33 kmPemiscot County 38 kmCrockett County 40 kmGibson County 42 kmLauderdale County 46 kmFulton County 50 kmNew Madrid County 58 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
Missouri today
every earthquake in Missouri in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.5 (md)
Depth
8.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Dyer County, 8 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Reelfoot scarp and New Madrid seismic zone, 5 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 2205 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. 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: Dyersburg, Newbern, Ridgely, Obion, Caruthersville, Halls.

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 36.1253, -89.3752. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dyer County, TN 8 km (5 mi) SSW earthquakes near Dyer County
Lake County, TN 25 km (16 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lake County
Obion County, TN 33 km (21 mi) NE earthquakes near Obion County
Pemiscot County, MO 38 km (24 mi) WNW earthquakes near Pemiscot County
Crockett County, TN 40 km (25 mi) SSE earthquakes near Crockett County
Gibson County, TN 42 km (26 mi) ESE earthquakes near Gibson County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 southeastern Missouri
  2. 2.0 southeastern Missouri
  3. 1.8 10 km NNW of Dyersburg, Tennessee
  4. 2.3 9 km SW of Caruthersville, Missouri
  5. 2.0 4 km S of New Madrid, Missouri
  6. 1.6 1 km WNW of Cooter, Missouri
  7. 1.7 5 km ESE of Marston, Missouri
  8. 1.6 5 km ESE of Marston, Missouri
  9. 1.7 4 km NNW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  10. 1.6 7 km NW of Ridgely, Tennessee
  11. 2.0 7 km NW of Ridgely, Tennessee
  12. 1.8 9 km NW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  13. 1.8 5 km NNW of Ridgely, Tennessee
  14. 1.5 5 km NW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  15. 1.8 6 km SE of Ridgely, Tennessee

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.