QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Brinkley, AR

No earthquake was likely felt in Brinkley in the 24 hours to 1:05 am CST (07:05 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 179 km (111 mi) NE, at 12:59 pm CDT on 23 April 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 913 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Brinkley

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) southwest of Brinkley, AR, at 2:18 am CST on 27 February 2023 (08:18 UTC), 8.3 km deep.

USGS: 9 km SW of Brinkley, Arkansas

2:18 am CST, Feb 27, 2023 · · 8.3 km deep · released about 40 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Monroe County 17 kmPrairie County 26 kmWoodruff County 41 kmLee County 45 kmSt. Francis County 52 kmLonoke County 58 kmPhillips County 58 kmArkansas County 61 kmWhite County 65 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
2:18 am CST on 27 February 2023 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) southwest of Brinkley, AR · earthquakes near Brinkley
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
8.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Monroe County, 17 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1029 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 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Brinkley, 9 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: Clarendon, Des Arc, Hazen.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 40 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 380,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 270,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 24× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 40 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 34.8267, -91.2658. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Monroe County, AR 17 km (11 mi) SSE earthquakes near Monroe County
Prairie County, AR 26 km (16 mi) W earthquakes near Prairie County
Woodruff County, AR 41 km (25 mi) N earthquakes near Woodruff County
Lee County, AR 45 km (28 mi) E earthquakes near Lee County
St. Francis County, AR 52 km (32 mi) ENE earthquakes near St. Francis County
Lonoke County, AR 58 km (36 mi) W earthquakes near Lonoke County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 10 km WNW of Cotton Plant, Arkansas
  2. 2.1 3 km SW of Georgetown, Arkansas
  3. 1.9 8 km NNW of Cotton Plant, Arkansas
  4. 1.7 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.