QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

southeastern Missouri

Yes. A magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded in southeastern Missouri, at 12:36 am CST on 15 January 2023 (06:36 UTC), 8.4 km deep.

· 8.4 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dyer County 9 kmLake County 24 kmObion County 33 kmPemiscot County 37 kmCrockett County 42 kmGibson County 43 kmLauderdale County 46 kmFulton County 50 kmNew Madrid County 57 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
Missouri today
every earthquake in Missouri in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
8.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Dyer County, 9 km S
Nearest mapped fault
Reelfoot scarp and New Madrid seismic zone, 4 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 1396 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Dyersburg, Newbern, Ridgely, Obion, Caruthersville, Halls.

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 36.1312, -89.3858. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dyer County, TN 9 km (5 mi) S earthquakes near Dyer County
Lake County, TN 24 km (15 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lake County
Obion County, TN 33 km (21 mi) NE earthquakes near Obion County
Pemiscot County, MO 37 km (23 mi) WNW earthquakes near Pemiscot County
Crockett County, TN 42 km (26 mi) SSE earthquakes near Crockett County
Gibson County, TN 43 km (27 mi) ESE earthquakes near Gibson County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 3 km ESE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  2. 1.6 3 km ESE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  3. 1.7 3 km ESE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  4. 2.5 1 km NNE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  5. 1.7 3 km ESE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  6. 2.2 southeastern Missouri
  7. 1.6 3 km SE of Holland, Missouri
  8. 2.2 3 km ESE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  9. 1.6 1 km NNE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  10. 1.8 1 km NNE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  11. 1.7 southeastern Missouri
  12. 1.8 6 km SE of Marston, Missouri
  13. 2.1 southeastern Missouri
  14. 1.7 5 km SE of Marston, Missouri
  15. 1.6 southeastern 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.