QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near New Madrid, MO

USGS: 9 km N of New Madrid, Missouri

8:06 am CDT, Oct 2, 2026 · · 12 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N New Madrid County 14 kmMississippi County 27 kmFulton County 33 kmLake County 38 kmScott County 42 kmStoddard County 42 kmObion County 49 kmHickman County 50 kmCarlisle County 53 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
8:06 am CDT on 2 October 2026 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) N of New Madrid, MO · earthquakes near New Madrid
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
New Madrid County, 14 km SW
Nearest mapped fault
Reelfoot scarp and New Madrid seismic zone, 4 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 11 hours ago

A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) N of New Madrid, MO, at 8:06 am CDT on 2 October 2026 (13:06 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Lilbourn, East Prairie, Sikeston.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 790,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 70× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 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 36.6733, -89.5295. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
New Madrid County, MO 14 km (9 mi) SW earthquakes near New Madrid County
Mississippi County, MO 27 km (17 mi) NE earthquakes near Mississippi County
Fulton County, KY 33 km (21 mi) ESE earthquakes near Fulton County
Lake County, TN 38 km (24 mi) S earthquakes near Lake County
Scott County, MO 42 km (26 mi) N earthquakes near Scott County
Stoddard County, MO 42 km (26 mi) WNW earthquakes near Stoddard County

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

Aftershocks so far

No further earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

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.