04/24/2026
From our friends at the Kentucky Geological Survey.
At 12:59 local time (1:59 EST), a magnitude 4.0 earthquake occurred in southeastern Missouri, approximately 2 km west of the town of Cooter, Mo., at a depth of 12 km. The earthquake occurred in the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ), and is the largest event recorded in the NMSZ for more than 20 years. The event occurred within a tight cluster of historical earthquake activity associated with the Axial fault, the longest fault mapped in the NMSZ (approximately 120 km long).
Hundreds of people reported feeling the earthquake, with shaking reportedly felt as far away as Henderson, Ky. (approximately 270 km, or 170 miles). The seismic waves from this earthquake were well recorded across by 's Kentucky Seismic and Strong-Motion Network.