Biggest Earthquake of 2026 Just Shook Cooter, Missouri

The biggest New Madrid Fault quake of 2026 has just shaken Cooter, Missouri and hundreds reported to the USGS that they felt it.

According to the USGS, this magnitude 4.0 earthquake was centered near Cooter, Missouri and happened around 12:59pm Thursday, April 23, 2026

According to the USGS "felt report", this New Madrid Fault quake was felt widely across the region including Poplar Bluff and even in parts of Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee. I'm hearing reports that this quake was felt as far away as Indiana.

Here's the exact epicenter of the quake as shown by the USGS. It's in a field between Cooter and Steele, Missouri.

There are no initial reports of damage that I can find, but a magnitude 4.0 earthquake is by far the largest New Madrid quake of 2026 so far. A magnitude 4 level quake is not normally large enough to cause damage to a structure, but is strong enough to knock objects off of shelves. This initial 4.0 quake was followed up by a much smaller 2.1 quake just a few minutes ago in almost the exact same location.