On Thursday Afternoon an Unusually powerful M4.0 Earthquake struck 64mi from Memphis in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 23rd, 2026. Last updated April 24th, 2026.

Under land 64 miles from Memphis in The United States, an unusually powerful MAG-4.0 earthquake occurred in the early afternoon of Thursday April 23rd, 2026. Around 2.3 million people have been exposed to shaking.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 64 miles (103 km) north of Memphis in Tennessee. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 7 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Apr 23, 2026 12:59PM (Chicago Time) - Apr 23, 2026 17:59 Universal Time.
Location:	64 mi north of Memphis, Tennessee, The United States. Coordinates 36°3'19"N 89°49'32"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.0 Detected by 46 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.046 .
Depth:	7 mi (12 km) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 95% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 90% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact.

Roughly 2.3 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 2.3 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

An estimated 26,580 people were exposed to level IV. At this level, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. Intensity level II was experienced by a large group of people (around 1.9 million). In their region, very weak shaking and no damage can be expected.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
1,812,000	I	Not noticable	None
1,934,000	II	Very weak	None
358,700	III	Weak	Probably none
26,580	IV	Light	Likely none
0	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in The United States . Dyersburg in Tennessee, The United States is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 25 miles (40 km) west of Dyersburg. The intensity of shaking and damage in Dyersburg is estimated to be around level III on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (weak shaking, probably no damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: Memphis is located 64 mi to the south and experienced an intensity of II (very weak shaking, no damage). New South Memphis is located 68 mi to the south and experienced an intensity of II (very weak shaking, no damage). Nashville is located 170 mi to the east (intensity unknown, possibly low).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
25 mi (40 km) E from epicenter	Dyersburg Tennessee, The United States.	III Weak
37 mi (60 km) W from epicenter	Paragould Arkansas, The United States.	II Weak
52 mi (83 km) W from epicenter	Jonesboro Arkansas, The United States.	II Weak
58 mi (93 km) NW from epicenter	Poplar Bluff Missouri, The United States.	II Weak
58 mi (94 km) N from epicenter	Sikeston Missouri, The United States.	II Weak
59 mi (95 km) S from epicenter	Bartlett Tennessee, The United States.	II Weak
64 mi (103 km) S from epicenter	Memphis Tennessee, The United States.	II Weak
65 mi (104 km) SE from epicenter	Jackson Tennessee, The United States.	III Weak
66 mi (106 km) S from epicenter	West Memphis Arkansas, The United States.	II Weak
67 mi (108 km) S from epicenter	Germantown Tennessee, The United States.	II Weak
68 mi (110 km) S from epicenter	New South Memphis Tennessee, The United States.	II Weak
71 mi (114 km) S from epicenter	Collierville Tennessee, The United States.	II Weak
75 mi (120 km) S from epicenter	Southaven Mississippi, The United States.	II Weak
76 mi (122 km) S from epicenter	Olive Branch Mississippi, The United States.	II Weak
77 mi (124 km) S from epicenter	Horn Lake Mississippi, The United States.	II Weak
86 mi (138 km) S from epicenter	Hernando Mississippi, The United States.	I Not felt
88 mi (142 km) N from epicenter	Cape Girardeau Missouri, The United States.	I Not felt
93 mi (149 km) NE from epicenter	Murray Kentucky, The United States.	II Weak
98 mi (158 km) NE from epicenter	Paducah Kentucky, The United States.	II Weak
118 mi (190 km) S from epicenter	Oxford Mississippi, The United States.	I Not felt
121 mi (194 km) N from epicenter	Carbondale Illinois, The United States.	II Weak
121 mi (194 km) SW from epicenter	Searcy Arkansas, The United States.	I Not felt
124 mi (199 km) N from epicenter	Farmington Missouri, The United States.	I Not felt
126 mi (202 km) NE from epicenter	Marion Illinois, The United States.	I Not felt
139 mi (224 km) SE from epicenter	Tupelo Mississippi, The United States.	I Not felt
141 mi (227 km) E from epicenter	Clarksville Tennessee, The United States.
141 mi (227 km) NE from epicenter	Hopkinsville Kentucky, The United States.	I Not felt
144 mi (232 km) SW from epicenter	Cabot Arkansas, The United States.
149 mi (240 km) SE from epicenter	Florence Alabama, The United States.	I Not felt
150 mi (241 km) SE from epicenter	East Florence Alabama, The United States.	I Not felt
153 mi (246 km) SW from epicenter	Jacksonville Arkansas, The United States.
159 mi (256 km) E from epicenter	Columbia Tennessee, The United States.
160 mi (257 km) SW from epicenter	Sherwood Arkansas, The United States.
162 mi (260 km) SW from epicenter	Conway Arkansas, The United States.
163 mi (263 km) SW from epicenter	North Little Rock Arkansas, The United States.
163 mi (263 km) E from epicenter	Spring Hill Tennessee, The United States.
165 mi (266 km) E from epicenter	Franklin Tennessee, The United States.
166 mi (267 km) SW from epicenter	Little Rock Arkansas, The United States.
169 mi (272 km) N from epicenter	Oakville Missouri, The United States.
170 mi (273 km) E from epicenter	Nashville Tennessee, The United States.
170 mi (274 km) E from epicenter	Brentwood Tennessee, The United States.
170 mi (274 km) N from epicenter	Belleville Illinois, The United States.
170 mi (274 km) E from epicenter	Brentwood Estates Tennessee, The United States.
176 mi (284 km) SW from epicenter	Pine Bluff Arkansas, The United States.
179 mi (288 km) N from epicenter	St. Louis Missouri, The United States.
180 mi (289 km) E from epicenter	Hendersonville Tennessee, The United States.
181 mi (291 km) N from epicenter	Wildwood Missouri, The United States.
181 mi (292 km) N from epicenter	University City Missouri, The United States.
183 mi (294 km) NE from epicenter	Evansville Indiana, The United States.
185 mi (297 km) N from epicenter	Chesterfield Missouri, The United States.
185 mi (298 km) E from epicenter	Smyrna Tennessee, The United States.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is IV.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 1 person

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 1 person has reported shaking in one place in Canada.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

Bradford, Ontario, Canada: 1 person.

Risk of aftershocks?

This earthquake did not have any significant foreshocks nor aftershocks occurring within 100km (62 mi) of its epicenter.

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

The chance that a significant earthquake like this one is followed by an even larger earthquake is not so large. On average, scientists estimate a 94% chance that a major earthquake will not be followed by an even larger one. It is still adviced to be aware of this risk

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

This is the strongest earthquake in 4 years

Earthquakes of this strength are not so common in the region, but it's not the first time. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since November 18th, 2021, when a 4 magnitude earthquake hit 71 mi (114 km) further northwest. That was also the heaviest earthquake to hit the region in the past 10 years.

In total, 1 earthquake with a magnitude of 4 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 10 years.

Tsunami very unlikely

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	Not this earthquake. This earthquake appears to have struck on land far from any coast.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 4. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 7 mi (12 km). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 24/04/26 01:38 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.