QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Cape Girardeau, MO

No earthquake was likely felt in Cape Girardeau in the 24 hours to 4:32 am CST (10:32 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 195 km (121 mi) NE, at 2:05 am CDT on 29 June 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 392 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Cape Girardeau

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) northwest of Cape Girardeau, MO, at 9:30 am CST on 10 February 2022 (15:30 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 5 km NW of Cape Girardeau, Missouri

9:30 am CST, Feb 10, 2022 · · 12 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cape Girardeau County 12 kmAlexander County 26 kmScott County 32 kmUnion County 33 kmBollinger County 41 kmPulaski County 41 kmPerry County 47 kmJackson County 53 kmBallard 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
9:30 am CST on 10 February 2022 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) northwest of Cape Girardeau, MO · earthquakes near Cape Girardeau
Missouri today
every earthquake in Missouri in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cape Girardeau County, 12 km WNW
Nearest mapped fault
Faults of Thebes Gap area, 11 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 1735 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 4 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Cape Girardeau, 5 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: Jackson, Scott City, Chaffee, Oran, Jonesboro.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 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 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 970,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 86× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 37.3343, -89.5670. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cape Girardeau County, MO 12 km (7 mi) WNW earthquakes near Cape Girardeau County
Alexander County, IL 26 km (16 mi) SE earthquakes near Alexander County
Scott County, MO 32 km (20 mi) S earthquakes near Scott County
Union County, IL 33 km (21 mi) ENE earthquakes near Union County
Bollinger County, MO 41 km (25 mi) W earthquakes near Bollinger County
Pulaski County, IL 41 km (26 mi) ESE earthquakes near Pulaski County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 6 km WNW of Cape Girardeau, Missouri
  2. 1.6 11 km WNW of Jonesboro, Illinois
  3. 2.0 3 km NE of Ullin, Illinois
  4. 1.6 3 km WNW of Mill Creek, Illinois
  5. 2.1 1 km WSW of Mill Creek, Illinois
  6. 2.2 4 km ENE of Olmsted, Illinois
  7. 2.0 3 km SSW of McClure, Illinois
  8. 2.0 3 km WSW of Cape Girardeau, 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.