QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Portageville, MO

No earthquake was likely felt in Portageville in the 24 hours to 8:43 am CST (14:43 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 17 km (11 mi) SE, at 2:20 pm CDT on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Portageville

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) east-southeast of Portageville, MO, at 3:13 am CDT on 2 May 2023 (08:13 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 6 km E of Hayward, Missouri

3:13 am CDT, May 2, 2023 · · 12 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lake County 12 kmNew Madrid County 23 kmPemiscot County 26 kmObion County 41 kmFulton County 41 kmDyer County 42 kmDunklin County 49 kmMississippi County 55 kmStoddard 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
3:13 am CDT on 2 May 2023 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) east-southeast of Portageville, MO · earthquakes near Portageville
Missouri today
every earthquake in Missouri in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lake County, 12 km ESE
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 1028 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Portageville, 10 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.

Likely felt in: Portageville 10 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 760,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 68× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 36.3948, -89.5995. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lake County, TN 12 km (8 mi) ESE earthquakes near Lake County
New Madrid County, MO 23 km (14 mi) NNW earthquakes near New Madrid County
Pemiscot County, MO 26 km (16 mi) SW earthquakes near Pemiscot County
Obion County, TN 41 km (25 mi) E earthquakes near Obion County
Fulton County, KY 41 km (25 mi) ENE earthquakes near Fulton County
Dyer County, TN 42 km (26 mi) SSE earthquakes near Dyer 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. 2.0 1 km ENE of Marston, Missouri
  2. 1.6 3 km SE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  3. 1.9 10 km NNW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  4. 1.9 southeastern Missouri
  5. 1.9 6 km SE of Marston, Missouri
  6. 1.8 5 km WSW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  7. 1.7 1 km SE of Marston, Missouri
  8. 1.6 southeastern Missouri
  9. 1.7 10 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  10. 1.7 5 km SE of Marston, Missouri
  11. 1.7 7 km SE of Marston, Missouri
  12. 1.6 5 km NW of Marston, Missouri
  13. 1.8 3 km S of East Prairie, Missouri
  14. 2.1 2 km NW of Marston, Missouri
  15. 1.6 1 km SW of Howardville, 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.