Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1md
Earthquake near Steele, MO
No earthquake was likely felt in Steele in the 24 hours to 4:26 am CST (10:26 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 10 km (6 mi) SSW, at 8:56 pm CDT on 17 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Steele
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Steele, MO, at 8:29 pm CDT on 20 September 2026 (01:29 UTC), 9.8 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 7 km ENE of Steele, Missouri
- When
- 8:29 pm CDT on 20 September 2026 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Steele, MO · earthquakes near Steele
- Missouri today
- every earthquake in Missouri in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (md)
- Depth
- 9.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Pemiscot County, 13 km NNW
- 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 51 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Steele, MO
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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 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Steele, 7 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: Steele 7 km, intensity II · Caruthersville 14 km, intensity II · Blytheville 24 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 38 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 390,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 280,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 25× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 38 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 790 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 36.0977, -89.7523. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pemiscot County, MO | 13 km (8 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Pemiscot County |
| Dunklin County, MO | 29 km (18 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Dunklin County |
| Dyer County, TN | 32 km (20 mi) | E | earthquakes near Dyer County |
| Lake County, TN | 36 km (22 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Lake County |
| Lauderdale County, TN | 39 km (24 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Lauderdale County |
| Mississippi County, AR | 46 km (28 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Mississippi County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
18 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 4 km WSW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
- 1.6 8 km NW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
- 1.6 2 km NNE of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.4 5 km SE of Marston, Missouri
- 2.3 7 km SW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
- 1.4 5 km SE of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.4 6 km S of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 1.8 1 km ENE of Marston, Missouri
- 1.7 7 km NW of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 2.0 13 km NNW of Newbern, Tennessee
- 1.9 5 km S of Holland, Missouri
- 2.1 5 km NNW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
- 2.0 7 km NW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
- 0.9 6 km NNW of Ridgely, Tennessee
- 2.3 5 km E of Steele, 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
- 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.