QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Blytheville, AR

No earthquake was likely felt in Blytheville in the 24 hours to 4:28 am CST (10:28 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 1.9 earthquake was recorded in Blytheville, AR, at 4:47 pm CDT on 24 March 2023 (21:47 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 1 km NW of Blytheville, Arkansas

92 km (57 mi) N of Memphis, TN

4:47 pm CDT, Mar 24, 2023 · · 16 km deep · released about 25 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mississippi County 22 kmDunklin County 27 kmPemiscot County 33 kmLauderdale County 33 kmDyer County 49 kmTipton County 51 kmLake County 59 kmGreene County 61 kmCraighead 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
4:47 pm CDT on 24 March 2023 ()
Where
in Blytheville, AR · earthquakes near Blytheville
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mississippi County, 22 km SSW
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 1327 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 15 km (9 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.

Likely felt in: Blytheville in town, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 25 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 620,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 440,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 39× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 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 35.9358, -89.9260. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mississippi County, AR 22 km (14 mi) SSW earthquakes near Mississippi County
Dunklin County, MO 27 km (17 mi) NNW earthquakes near Dunklin County
Pemiscot County, MO 33 km (20 mi) NNE earthquakes near Pemiscot County
Lauderdale County, TN 33 km (21 mi) SE earthquakes near Lauderdale County
Dyer County, TN 49 km (31 mi) ENE earthquakes near Dyer County
Tipton County, TN 51 km (32 mi) SSE earthquakes near Tipton County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 9 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
  2. 1.7 1 km NNW of Cooter, Missouri
  3. 1.6 6 km NE of Caruthersville, Missouri
  4. 1.7 8 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
  5. 1.8 1 km WNW of Etowah, Arkansas
  6. 1.9 5 km NNE of Dell, Arkansas
  7. 1.7 10 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  8. 1.9 7 km ENE of Etowah, Arkansas
  9. 1.6 4 km SSE of Caraway, Arkansas
  10. 1.8 3 km NE of Gosnell, Arkansas
  11. 1.5 southeastern Missouri
  12. 1.7 5 km ENE of Caruthersville, Missouri
  13. 1.9 7 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
  14. 1.9 7 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
  15. 1.8 1 km N of Cooter, 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.