QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Hayti, MO

No earthquake was likely felt in Hayti in the 24 hours to 1:47 am CST (07:47 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 22 km (14 mi) ENE, at 2:20 pm CDT on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Hayti

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) south-southeast of Hayti, MO, at 11:54 pm CDT on 20 May 2026 (04:54 UTC), 5.1 km deep.

USGS: 4 km SSE of Hayti, Missouri

11:54 pm CDT, May 20, 2026 · · 5.1 km deep · released about 94 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Pemiscot County 6 kmLake County 26 kmDunklin County 31 kmDyer County 33 kmNew Madrid County 45 kmLauderdale County 49 kmObion County 55 kmMississippi County 56 kmFulton County 62 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
11:54 pm CDT on 20 May 2026 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) south-southeast of Hayti, MO · earthquakes near Hayti
Missouri today
every earthquake in Missouri in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
5.1 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Pemiscot County, 6 km WNW
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

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 38 km (24 mi) from the epicentre. In Hayti, 5 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: Caruthersville 6 km, intensity III · Steele 16 km, intensity II · Portageville 26 km, intensity II · Tiptonville 30 km, intensity II · Blytheville 35 km, intensity II · Dyersburg 35 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 94 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 160,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 110,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 10× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 94 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 320 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 36.1963, -89.7208. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Pemiscot County, MO 6 km (4 mi) WNW earthquakes near Pemiscot County
Lake County, TN 26 km (16 mi) NE earthquakes near Lake County
Dunklin County, MO 31 km (19 mi) W earthquakes near Dunklin County
Dyer County, TN 33 km (21 mi) ESE earthquakes near Dyer County
New Madrid County, MO 45 km (28 mi) N earthquakes near New Madrid County
Lauderdale County, TN 49 km (30 mi) S earthquakes near Lauderdale County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 7 km S of Ridgely, Tennessee
  2. 1.8 6 km NW of Ridgely, Tennessee
  3. 1.7 4 km NW of Marston, Missouri
  4. 1.7 7 km NW of Ridgely, Tennessee
  5. 1.7 5 km W of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  6. 1.7 7 km ESE of Marston, Missouri
  7. 2.2 7 km SSW of Catron, Missouri
  8. 1.8 3 km ENE of Marston, Missouri
  9. 1.8 3 km ENE of Marston, Missouri
  10. 1.9 5 km ENE of Marston, Missouri
  11. 2.1 6 km NW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  12. 1.9 1 km N of Marston, Missouri
  13. 2.0 5 km NE of Caruthersville, Missouri
  14. 2.1 6 km SE of Marston, Missouri
  15. 2.1 3 km SSW of Caruthersville, Missouri

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.