QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Madisonville, KY

No earthquake was likely felt in Madisonville in the 24 hours to 6:28 am CST (12:28 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 143 km (89 mi) NNW, at 2:05 am CDT on 29 June 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 392 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Madisonville

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) northwest of Madisonville, KY, at 12:02 pm CDT on 3 June 2023 (17:02 UTC), 16 km deep. 8 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 7 km N of Nebo, Kentucky

60 km (37 mi) S of Evansville, IN · 58 km (36 mi) SW of Owensboro, KY

12:02 pm CDT, Jun 3, 2023 · · 16 km deep · released about 180 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Webster County 8 kmHopkins County 18 kmMcLean County 35 kmUnion County 35 kmHenderson County 38 kmCaldwell County 39 kmCrittenden County 42 kmMuhlenberg County 53 kmHardin County 55 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
12:02 pm CDT on 3 June 2023 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) northwest of Madisonville, KY · earthquakes near Madisonville
Kentucky today
every earthquake in Kentucky in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
8 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Webster County, 8 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1194 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 44 km (27 mi) from the epicentre. In Madisonville, 19 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: Clay, Sebree, Earlington.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 180 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 83,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 59,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 180 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 37.4535, -87.6470. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Webster County, KY 8 km (5 mi) NNW earthquakes near Webster County
Hopkins County, KY 18 km (11 mi) SSE earthquakes near Hopkins County
McLean County, KY 35 km (22 mi) ENE earthquakes near McLean County
Union County, KY 35 km (22 mi) NW earthquakes near Union County
Henderson County, KY 38 km (24 mi) N earthquakes near Henderson County
Caldwell County, KY 39 km (24 mi) SSW earthquakes near Caldwell County

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

Aftershocks so far

1 earthquake has been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.4 9 km ENE of Uniontown, Kentucky

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.