Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Tiptonville, TN
No earthquake was likely felt in Tiptonville in the 24 hours to 3:15 am CST (09:15 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 8 km (5 mi) SW, at 2:20 pm CDT on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tiptonville
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) north of Tiptonville, TN, at 11:24 am CDT on 17 May 2026 (16:24 UTC), 5.3 km deep.
USGS: 2 km N of Tiptonville, Tennessee
- When
- 11:24 am CDT on 17 May 2026 ()
- Where
- 2 km (1 mi) north of Tiptonville, TN · earthquakes near Tiptonville
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 5.3 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Lake County, 7 km S
- 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 175 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Tiptonville, TN
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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 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Tiptonville, 2 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: Tiptonville 2 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 8.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.7 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.0 on 2026-04-23 — about 3,500 times the energy of this one.
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 36.3972, -89.4733. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake County, TN | 7 km (4 mi) | S | earthquakes near Lake County |
| New Madrid County, MO | 27 km (17 mi) | NW | earthquakes near New Madrid County |
| Obion County, TN | 29 km (18 mi) | E | earthquakes near Obion County |
| Fulton County, KY | 31 km (19 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Fulton County |
| Pemiscot County, MO | 35 km (22 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Pemiscot County |
| Dyer County, TN | 39 km (24 mi) | S | 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.
- 1.7 7 km ESE of Marston, Missouri
- 2.2 7 km SSW of Catron, Missouri
- 1.8 3 km ENE of Marston, Missouri
- 1.8 3 km ENE of Marston, Missouri
- 1.9 5 km ENE of Marston, Missouri
- 2.1 6 km NW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
- 1.9 1 km N of Marston, Missouri
- 2.0 5 km NE of Caruthersville, Missouri
- 2.1 6 km SE of Marston, Missouri
- 2.1 3 km SSW of Caruthersville, Missouri
- 1.8 4 km NNE of North Lilbourn, Missouri
- 2.1 6 km W of Parma, Missouri
- 1.9 6 km W of Parma, Missouri
- 2.4 3 km WSW of Tallapoosa, Missouri
- 1.7 1 km NNE of Ridgely, Tennessee
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.