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 11:51 am CST (17:51 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 15 km (10 mi) west-southwest of Blytheville, AR, at 3:53 am CDT on 8 August 2022 (08:53 UTC), 17 km deep.

USGS: 3 km NW of Dell, Arkansas

86 km (53 mi) N of Memphis, TN · 55 km (34 mi) E of Jonesboro, AR

3:53 am CDT, Aug 8, 2022 · · 17 km deep · released about 9.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mississippi County 12 kmDunklin County 31 kmLauderdale County 42 kmPemiscot County 46 kmCraighead County 50 kmTipton County 51 kmGreene County 52 kmClay County 63 kmPoinsett County 64 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
3:53 am CDT on 8 August 2022 ()
Where
15 km (10 mi) west-southwest of Blytheville, AR · earthquakes near Blytheville
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mississippi County, 12 km S
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 1558 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. In Blytheville, 15 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: Manila, Gosnell, Leachville, Luxora, Osceola, Monette.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9.6 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 1,600,000× 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 99× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.6 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 35.8753, -90.0782. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mississippi County, AR 12 km (8 mi) S earthquakes near Mississippi County
Dunklin County, MO 31 km (19 mi) N earthquakes near Dunklin County
Lauderdale County, TN 42 km (26 mi) ESE earthquakes near Lauderdale County
Pemiscot County, MO 46 km (28 mi) NE earthquakes near Pemiscot County
Craighead County, AR 50 km (31 mi) W earthquakes near Craighead County
Tipton County, TN 51 km (32 mi) SE earthquakes near Tipton County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 southeastern Missouri
  2. 2.9 10 km W of Henning, Tennessee
  3. 2.5 10 km S of Bragg City, Missouri
  4. 1.8 southeastern Missouri
  5. 1.8 7 km SSE of Manila, Arkansas
  6. 1.8 3 km SW of Blytheville, Arkansas
  7. 2.4 Tennessee
  8. 2.3 1 km NNW of Cooter, Missouri
  9. 1.6 5 km NNE of Etowah, Arkansas
  10. 2.0 8 km SW of Caruthersville, Missouri
  11. 1.9 9 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
  12. 1.7 1 km NNW of Cooter, Missouri
  13. 1.7 8 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
  14. 1.8 1 km WNW of Etowah, Arkansas
  15. 1.9 5 km NNE of Dell, Arkansas

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.