Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.7md
Earthquake near Olney, IL
No earthquake was likely felt in Olney in the 24 hours to 6:15 am CST (12:15 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 22 km (13 mi) SSE, at 2:05 am CDT on 29 June 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 392 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Olney
This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) southeast of Olney, IL, at 11:11 pm CDT on 9 September 2023 (04:11 UTC), 21 km deep. 21 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9 km E of Parkersburg, Illinois
77 km (48 mi) NNW of Evansville, IN
- When
- 11:11 pm CDT on 9 September 2023 ()
- Where
- 19 km (12 mi) southeast of Olney, IL · earthquakes near Olney
- Illinois today
- every earthquake in Illinois in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.7 (md)
- Depth
- 21 km below the surface
- Felt
- 21 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Richland County, 18 km NW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Wabash Valley liquefaction features, 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 1090 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Olney, IL
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Olney, IL. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 54 km (34 mi) from the epicentre. In Olney, 19 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Sumner, Bridgeport, Mount Carmel, Albion, Lawrenceville.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 380 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 40,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 29,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.7 about 380 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 lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.2 2 km ESE of Claremont, Illinois · 12 km N of this epicentre
- 5.2 7 km NNE of Bellmont, Illinois · 17 km SSE of this epicentre
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 38.5985, -87.9445. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richland County, IL | 18 km (11 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Richland County |
| Wabash County, IL | 19 km (12 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Wabash County |
| Edwards County, IL | 22 km (14 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Edwards County |
| Lawrence County, IL | 23 km (14 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Lawrence County |
| Gibson County, IN | 45 km (28 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Gibson County |
| Wayne County, IL | 46 km (29 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Wayne County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
4 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.5 6 km NE of West Salem, Illinois
- 2.1 5 km WNW of Grayville, Illinois
- 2.4 7 km NE of Mount Carmel, Illinois
- 2.1 4 km NW of Bone Gap, Illinois
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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.