QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Jonesboro, AR

No earthquake was likely felt in Jonesboro in the 24 hours to 4:27 am CST (10:27 UTC). The last one was M 4.0, 83 km (51 mi) ENE, at 12:59 pm CDT on 23 April 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 913 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Jonesboro

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) east of Jonesboro, AR, at 1:24 pm CDT on 2 September 2023 (18:24 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 5 km NNE of Etowah, Arkansas

77 km (48 mi) NNW of Memphis, TN · 42 km (26 mi) E of Jonesboro, AR

1:24 pm CDT, Sep 2, 2023 · · 10 km deep · released about 6.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mississippi County 15 kmCraighead County 38 kmDunklin County 44 kmPoinsett County 48 kmGreene County 50 kmTipton County 52 kmLauderdale County 53 kmPemiscot County 62 kmCrittenden 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
1:24 pm CDT on 2 September 2023 ()
Where
45 km (28 mi) east of Jonesboro, AR · earthquakes near Jonesboro
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mississippi County, 15 km E
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 1160 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. In Jonesboro, 45 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Caraway, Manila, Monette, Leachville, Lake City, Lepanto.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.4 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 35.7740, -90.2153. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mississippi County, AR 15 km (9 mi) E earthquakes near Mississippi County
Craighead County, AR 38 km (24 mi) W earthquakes near Craighead County
Dunklin County, MO 44 km (28 mi) NNE earthquakes near Dunklin County
Poinsett County, AR 48 km (30 mi) WSW earthquakes near Poinsett County
Greene County, AR 50 km (31 mi) NW earthquakes near Greene County
Tipton County, TN 52 km (32 mi) SE earthquakes near Tipton County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 6 km SW of Etowah, Arkansas
  2. 1.9 3 km NNE of Blytheville, Arkansas
  3. 2.7 1 km WNW of Cooter, Missouri
  4. 1.9 6 km N of Etowah, Arkansas
  5. 2.3 2 km WSW of Lake City, Arkansas
  6. 2.2 1 km NNW of Cooter, Missouri
  7. 2.1 3 km WSW of Blytheville, Arkansas
  8. 2.5 6 km NNE of Dell, Arkansas
  9. 1.6 4 km W of Marked Tree, Arkansas
  10. 1.8 4 km ENE of Dell, Arkansas
  11. 1.6 9 km NE of Etowah, Arkansas
  12. 2.3 7 km SSE of Manila, Arkansas
  13. 1.9 7 km NW of Lepanto, Arkansas
  14. 1.8 9 km SSE of Manila, Arkansas
  15. 2.7 7 km NNE of Blytheville, 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.