QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

southeastern Missouri

Yes. A magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded in southeastern Missouri, at 11:13 pm CDT on 7 April 2023 (04:13 UTC), 11 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

· 11 km deep · released about 8.1 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pemiscot County 15 kmLake County 19 kmDyer County 26 kmDunklin County 40 kmNew Madrid County 44 kmObion County 46 kmLauderdale County 49 kmFulton County 55 kmCrockett County 61 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 1.6 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Pemiscot County, 15 km W
Nearest mapped fault
Reelfoot scarp and New Madrid seismic zone, 3 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 1248 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. 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: Caruthersville, Hayti, Ridgely, Steele, Tiptonville, Portageville.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.1 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 36.2033, -89.6228. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pemiscot County, MO 15 km (9 mi) W earthquakes near Pemiscot County
Lake County, TN 19 km (12 mi) NE earthquakes near Lake County
Dyer County, TN 26 km (16 mi) SE earthquakes near Dyer County
Dunklin County, MO 40 km (25 mi) W earthquakes near Dunklin County
New Madrid County, MO 44 km (27 mi) N earthquakes near New Madrid County
Obion County, TN 46 km (29 mi) ENE earthquakes near Obion County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 southeastern Missouri
  2. 1.7 9 km NW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  3. 1.7 5 km ENE of Caruthersville, Missouri
  4. 1.6 6 km NNW of Ridgely, Tennessee
  5. 1.9 7 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
  6. 1.8 3 km WNW of New Madrid, Missouri
  7. 1.6 5 km ESE of Marston, Missouri
  8. 1.7 8 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  9. 2.3 7 km E of Hayward, Missouri
  10. 1.6 2 km SW of Howardville, Missouri
  11. 1.6 3 km NW of Ridgely, Tennessee
  12. 1.6 3 km ESE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  13. 1.9 7 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
  14. 1.6 7 km ESE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  15. 1.5 7 km NW of Tiptonville, Tennessee

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.