A 3.3 earthquake hit off the coast of Gulfport. Is South MS in danger of another?

Sunday’s earthquake 130 miles off the coast of Gulfport may be too close to home for South Mississippi residents who are more focused on the start of hurricane season.

The 3.3 magnitude quake was recorded at 11:15 p.m. Sunday, along the continental shelf in the Gulf of Mexico, according to U.S. Geological Survey data.

It’s not the strongest — or the closest — to shake Mississippi and its residents.

Here is some history of earthquakes in Mississippi and surrounding areas in recent years:

The closest — A 2.9 magnitude earthquake was recorded 6 miles from Saucier at 11:52 a.m. on Sept. 9, 1975.

The earliest earthquake with a Mississippi epicenter was Sept. 11, 1853. Reports say it shook houses and alarmed inhabitants of Biloxi.

▪ In 1811 and 1812, a series of earthquakes near the New Madrid Missouri area was felt in Mississippi as far south as the Gulf Coast, according to the United States Geological Survey.

The strongest earthquake in Mississippi was estimated a 4.7 magnitude. It came Dec. 16, 1931, in the Batesville-Charleston area of northern Mississippi and was felt in four states.

Even stronger — A magnitude 5.2 earthquake was felt Feb. 10, 2006, on oil platforms in Green Canyon 6 in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast.

▪ A magnitude 5.9 earthquake hit in the Gulf of Mexico exactly six month later on Sept. 10, 2006. It was 250 miles west-southwest of Anna Maria, Florida, and was felt across the Gulf Coast.

▪ A 4.8 magnitude hit 25 years ago on Oct. 24, 1997. It was 9 miles from Flomaton, Alabama, which is northeast of Mobile.

Two others hit the Flomaton area in recent years.

▪ A 3.8 magnitude quake hit 7 miles from Flomaton on Sept. 3, 2020

▪ A 3.7 quake hit 7 miles from Flomaton on Oct. 2 Oct. 26, 1997.

Maximum intensity

The maximum intensity scale describes the effects of shaking. Mississippi has had only four earthquakes of intensity V or greater within its borders since 1817.

▪ The 1931 earthquake in Charleston was the strongest in Mississippi, where walls cracked and chimneys collapsed.

▪ The second strongest was on June 4, 1967, when a 3.8 magnitude quake northeast of Greenville was felt in four states.

▪ The third-strongest earthquake, was centered in Gulfport on Feb. 1, 1955, and was felt along the Mississippi coast from Biloxi to Bay St. Louis.

A pair in Quitman — Two 3.5 magnitude earthquakes were recorded near Quitman, south of Meridian.

▪ One was 15 miles away and came at 2:06 a.m. on Dec. 11, 1978

▪ The other was 7 miles away at 2:15 p.m. on March 25, 1996

More close earthquakes:

▪ 3.5 magnitude quake Feb. 18 2011, near Dauphin Island, Alabama

▪ 3.6 magnitude May 4, 1997, just over the border in Alabama, 13 miles from Butler

▪ 3.7 magnitude, July 16, 1993, 18 miles from Waynesboro, Alabama