Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.8mw
Earthquake near Jonesboro, AR
No earthquake was likely felt in Jonesboro in the 24 hours to 2:25 am CST (08:25 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 3.8 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) east of Jonesboro, AR, at 11:46 am CST on 27 December 2023 (17:46 UTC), 11 km deep. 487 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6 km NE of Etowah, Arkansas
76 km (47 mi) NNW of Memphis, TN · 44 km (28 mi) E of Jonesboro, AR
- When
- 11:46 am CST on 27 December 2023 ()
- Where
- 47 km (29 mi) east of Jonesboro, AR · earthquakes near Jonesboro
- Magnitude
- M 3.8 (mw)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- 487 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Mississippi County, 13 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 650 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Jonesboro, AR
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Jonesboro, AR. 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 401 km (249 mi) from the epicentre. In Jonesboro, 47 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.
Likely felt in: Manila 12 km, intensity IV · Blytheville 30 km, intensity III · Steele 48 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.6 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 22,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.8 about 7.6 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 16× more
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 35.7717, -90.1908. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mississippi County, AR | 13 km (8 mi) | E | earthquakes near Mississippi County |
| Craighead County, AR | 40 km (25 mi) | W | earthquakes near Craighead County |
| Dunklin County, MO | 44 km (27 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Dunklin County |
| Poinsett County, AR | 50 km (31 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Poinsett County |
| Tipton County, TN | 50 km (31 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Tipton County |
| Lauderdale County, TN | 51 km (32 mi) | E | earthquakes near Lauderdale County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
40 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.1 7 km WSW of Etowah, Arkansas
- 2.2 5 km ENE of Dell, Arkansas
- 3.1 3 km SW of Blytheville, Arkansas
- 2.6 3 km SW of Blytheville, Arkansas
- 2.0 4 km S of Holland, Missouri
- 1.8 5 km NNE of Blytheville, Arkansas
- 2.1 1 km W of Cooter, Missouri
- 1.8 5 km S of Caraway, Arkansas
- 2.0 2 km SE of Dell, Arkansas
- 1.8 9 km S of Trumann, Arkansas
- 2.1 6 km SW of Etowah, Arkansas
- 1.9 3 km NNE of Blytheville, Arkansas
- 2.7 1 km WNW of Cooter, Missouri
- 1.9 6 km N of Etowah, Arkansas
- 2.3 2 km WSW of Lake City, 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
- 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.