QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Pinckneyville, IL

No earthquake was likely felt in Pinckneyville in the 24 hours to 3:16 am CST (09:16 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 135 km (84 mi) ENE, at 2:05 am CDT on 29 June 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 392 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Pinckneyville

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Pinckneyville, IL, at 10:34 am CST on 5 March 2024 (16:34 UTC), 17 km deep. 17 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 6 km ENE of Pinckneyville, Illinois

10:34 am CST, Mar 5, 2024 · · 17 km deep · released about 190 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Perry County 5 kmWashington County 30 kmJackson County 35 kmFranklin County 36 kmJefferson County 41 kmRandolph County 45 kmWilliamson County 53 kmClinton County 58 kmPerry County 60 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
10:34 am CST on 5 March 2024 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Pinckneyville, IL · earthquakes near Pinckneyville
Illinois today
every earthquake in Illinois in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
17 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Perry County, 5 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Wabash Valley liquefaction features, 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 910 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 44 km (27 mi) from the epicentre. In Pinckneyville, 6 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Du Quoin, Sesser, Christopher, Nashville, Royalton.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 190 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 80,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 57,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.1× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 190 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 38.0922, -89.3145. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Perry County, IL 5 km (3 mi) W earthquakes near Perry County
Washington County, IL 30 km (19 mi) NNW earthquakes near Washington County
Jackson County, IL 35 km (21 mi) S earthquakes near Jackson County
Franklin County, IL 36 km (22 mi) ESE earthquakes near Franklin County
Jefferson County, IL 41 km (26 mi) NE earthquakes near Jefferson County
Randolph County, IL 45 km (28 mi) W earthquakes near Randolph County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 4 km NNE of Valier, Illinois
  2. 2.3 7 km NW of Woodlawn, Illinois

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.