QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Steele, MO

No earthquake was likely felt in Steele in the 24 hours to 5:12 am CST (11:12 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 10 km (6 mi) SSW, at 8:56 pm CDT on 17 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Steele

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Steele, MO, at 10:47 pm CDT on 13 June 2021 (03:47 UTC), 9.3 km deep.

USGS: 6 km ENE of Steele, Missouri

10:47 pm CDT, Jun 13, 2021 · · 9.3 km deep · released about 8.7 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pemiscot County 12 kmDunklin County 27 kmDyer County 33 kmLake County 36 kmLauderdale County 40 kmMississippi County 45 kmNew Madrid County 56 kmObion County 62 kmCrockett County 65 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
10:47 pm CDT on 13 June 2021 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Steele, MO · earthquakes near Steele
Missouri today
every earthquake in Missouri in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
9.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Pemiscot County, 12 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 1976 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 3 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Steele, 6 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, Hayti, Blytheville, Gosnell.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.7 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 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.7 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 36.1013, -89.7652. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pemiscot County, MO 12 km (8 mi) N earthquakes near Pemiscot County
Dunklin County, MO 27 km (17 mi) WNW earthquakes near Dunklin County
Dyer County, TN 33 km (21 mi) E earthquakes near Dyer County
Lake County, TN 36 km (22 mi) NE earthquakes near Lake County
Lauderdale County, TN 40 km (25 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lauderdale County
Mississippi County, AR 45 km (28 mi) SW earthquakes near Mississippi County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 8 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
  2. 1.8 4 km ESE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  3. 1.8 3 km S of Holland, Missouri
  4. 1.8 11 km S of Ridgely, Tennessee
  5. 2.1 7 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
  6. 1.8 4 km WNW of Marston, Missouri
  7. 1.7 4 km N of Ridgely, Tennessee
  8. 1.6 6 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  9. 2.1 3 km E of Marston, Missouri
  10. 1.9 7 km SW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  11. 1.7 4 km SE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  12. 1.7 5 km ESE of Marston, Missouri
  13. 1.6 1 km W of Cooter, Missouri
  14. 1.8 5 km SE of Marston, Missouri
  15. 1.9 4 km SSE 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.