Missouri earthquakes

M1.5 earthquake 2 km ENE of Marston, Missouri

A magnitude 1.5 earthquake struck 2 km ENE of Marston, Missouri on Tue, May 5, 1981, 3:21 AM CDT (08:21 UTC), 7 km (4 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M2.0 11 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee. This one was a foreshock.

Lilbourn forecastMore in Missouri

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

The earthquake

Magnitude
1.5 (md), micro
Local time
UTC
1981-05-05 08:21:01 UTC
Depth
6.9 km (4.3 mi), shallow
Epicenter
36.530° N, 89.590° W
Region
Missouri
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Depth from
From location

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 19 in the 60 days after this one and 12 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 2.011 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee · 16569 days ago · 5 km deep · 43 km away
  2. 1.611 km N of Dyersburg, Tennessee · 16563 days ago · 12 km deep · 47 km away
  3. 1.72 km NE of Cooter, Missouri · 16556 days ago · 9 km deep · 55 km away
  4. 1.66 km ESE of Tallapoosa, Missouri · 16554 days ago · 9 km deep · 15 km away
  5. 1.96 km SE of Marston, Missouri · 16553 days ago · 8 km deep · 6 km away
  6. 2.31 km NNE of Ridgely, Tennessee · 16552 days ago · 6 km deep · 29 km away
  7. 1.62 km NE of Ridgely, Tennessee · 16548 days ago · 10 km deep · 30 km away
  8. 1.62 km ENE of Ridgely, Tennessee · 16548 days ago · 3 km deep · 31 km away
  9. 1.77 km NW of Columbus, Kentucky · 16547 days ago · 6 km deep · 48 km away
  10. 1.89 km NW of Tiptonville, Tennessee · 16544 days ago · 8 km deep · 11 km away
  11. 1.710 km SSE of Ridgely, Tennessee · 16543 days ago · 14 km deep · 42 km away
  12. 1.59 km SE of Marston, Missouri · 16539 days ago · 8 km deep · 9 km away
  13. 2.06 km SW of Lilbourn, Missouri · 16534 days ago · 8 km deep · 8 km away
  14. 1.93 km NE of Howardville, Missouri · 16534 days ago · 7 km deep · 7 km away
  15. 1.71 km NE of Marston, Missouri · 16534 days ago · 5 km deep · 1 km away
  16. 1.73 km SSE of Gosnell, Arkansas · 16531 days ago · 8 km deep · 75 km away
  17. 1.85 km W of Dell, Arkansas · 16529 days ago · 9 km deep · 88 km away
  18. 3.53 km W of Dell, Arkansas · 16525 days ago · 5 km deep · 87 km away
  19. 1.89 km NW of Tiptonville, Tennessee · 16520 days ago · 8 km deep · 11 km away

Before

  1. 2.02 km SSE of Holland, Missouri · 16578 days ago · 7 km deep · 60 km away
  2. 1.68 km SE of Marston, Missouri · 16582 days ago · 3 km deep · 8 km away
  3. 1.66 km WSW of Victoria, Arkansas · 16583 days ago · 2 km deep · 100 km away
  4. 2.11 km N of Howardville, Missouri · 16586 days ago · 6 km deep · 6 km away
  5. 2.67 km NE of Caruthersville, Missouri · 16586 days ago · 6 km deep · 32 km away
  6. 1.93 km SSE of Catron, Missouri · 16590 days ago · 5 km deep · 11 km away
  7. 2.36 km ESE of Marston, Missouri · 16592 days ago · 9 km deep · 6 km away
  8. 1.62 km SSW of Howardville, Missouri · 16600 days ago · 2 km deep · 3 km away
  9. 1.92 km NE of Howardville, Missouri · 16600 days ago · 9 km deep · 6 km away
  10. 2.06 km ENE of Manila, Arkansas · 16604 days ago · 10 km deep · 83 km away
  11. 1.67 km ESE of Marston, Missouri · 16604 days ago · 7 km deep · 6 km away
  12. 1.84 km N of Blytheville, Arkansas · 16606 days ago · 13 km deep · 69 km away

Earthquakes todayMissouri earthquakesLive radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event nm601439. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:18 PM UTC.