QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Blytheville, AR

No earthquake was likely felt in Blytheville in the 24 hours to 4:25 am CST (10:25 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 10 km (6 mi) NNE, at 8:56 pm CDT on 17 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Blytheville

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Blytheville, AR, at 8:56 pm CDT on 17 October 2026 (01:56 UTC), 7.2 km deep.

USGS: 5 km S of Holland, Missouri

8:56 pm CDT, Oct 17, 2026 · · 7.2 km deep · released about 19 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dunklin County 24 kmPemiscot County 24 kmMississippi County 31 kmLauderdale County 35 kmDyer County 43 kmLake County 50 kmTipton County 57 kmClay County 63 kmGreene County 64 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
8:56 pm CDT on 17 October 2026 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) north-northeast of Blytheville, AR · earthquakes near Blytheville
Missouri today
every earthquake in Missouri in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
7.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Dunklin County, 24 km NW
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 19 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Blytheville, 10 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 10 km, intensity II · Blytheville 10 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 19 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 810,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 580,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 51× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 19 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 1,600 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 36.0053, -89.8723. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dunklin County, MO 24 km (15 mi) NW earthquakes near Dunklin County
Pemiscot County, MO 24 km (15 mi) NNE earthquakes near Pemiscot County
Mississippi County, AR 31 km (19 mi) SSW earthquakes near Mississippi County
Lauderdale County, TN 35 km (22 mi) SE earthquakes near Lauderdale County
Dyer County, TN 43 km (27 mi) E earthquakes near Dyer County
Lake County, TN 50 km (31 mi) NE earthquakes near Lake County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 2 km NNE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  2. 2.3 7 km SW of Tiptonville, Tennessee
  3. 1.4 5 km SE of Ridgely, Tennessee
  4. 1.4 6 km S of Ridgely, Tennessee
  5. 1.7 7 km NW 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.