QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Melbourne, AR

No earthquake was likely felt in Melbourne in the 24 hours to 5:31 pm CST (23:31 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 14 km (9 mi) SE, at 3:43 am CDT on 20 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Melbourne

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) west-southwest of Melbourne, AR, at 1:49 am CST on 10 January 2023 (07:49 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 11 km WSW of Melbourne, Arkansas

1:49 am CST, Jan 10, 2023 · · 15 km deep · released about 16 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Izard County 12 kmStone County 22 kmBaxter County 38 kmFulton County 43 kmCleburne County 49 kmSharp County 52 kmIndependence County 54 kmSearcy County 62 kmMarion 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
1:49 am CST on 10 January 2023 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) west-southwest of Melbourne, AR · earthquakes near Melbourne
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Izard County, 12 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1401 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Melbourne, 11 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: Calico Rock, Mountain View.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 16 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 970,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 680,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 61× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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 36.0370, -92.0275. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Izard County, AR 12 km (8 mi) ENE earthquakes near Izard County
Stone County, AR 22 km (14 mi) SSW earthquakes near Stone County
Baxter County, AR 38 km (24 mi) NW earthquakes near Baxter County
Fulton County, AR 43 km (26 mi) NNE earthquakes near Fulton County
Cleburne County, AR 49 km (31 mi) S earthquakes near Cleburne County
Sharp County, AR 52 km (32 mi) ENE earthquakes near Sharp 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. 2.2 7 km NNW of Salem, Arkansas
  2. 2.1 2 km E of Mountain Home, Arkansas
  3. 1.7 3 km NW of Mount Pleasant, Arkansas
  4. 1.8 3 km NW of Mount Pleasant, Arkansas
  5. 2.4 4 km WNW of Mount Pleasant, Arkansas
  6. 2.1 3 km NW of Mount Pleasant, Arkansas
  7. 1.8 9 km ESE of Ash Flat, Arkansas
  8. 2.0 8 km ESE of Ash Flat, Arkansas
  9. 2.0 4 km N of Evening Shade, Arkansas
  10. 1.9 13 km SSE of Guion, Arkansas
  11. 2.1 5 km NW of Sidney, 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.