Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 5.2ml
Earthquake near Midland, TX
Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Midland in the last 24 hours. M 3.4, 226 km (140 mi) W of Midland, at 3:25 pm CST on 13 November 2026 (21:25 UTC); the estimated shaking in Midland was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Midland
This page: a magnitude 5.2 earthquake was recorded 22 km (14 mi) north-northwest of Midland, TX, at 5:35 pm CST on 16 December 2022 (23:35 UTC), 8.2 km deep. 2,405 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: Range Hill, Texas
19 km (12 mi) N of Midland, TX
- When
- 5:35 pm CST on 16 December 2022 ()
- Where
- 22 km (14 mi) north-northwest of Midland, TX · earthquakes near Midland
- Texas today
- every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 5.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 8.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2,405 reports · strongest reported intensity VIII
- Measured shaking
- intensity VI (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Martin County, 21 km NE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 712 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Midland, TX
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Midland, TX. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a moderate earthquake. Shaking at this size can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 830 km (516 mi) from the epicentre. In Midland, 22 km away, the estimate is intensity VI (strong). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Likely felt in: Midland 22 km, intensity VI · Gardendale 29 km, intensity V · Stanton 34 km, intensity V · Odessa 44 km, intensity V. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 950 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 6.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 180× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7.9× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5.6× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 5.2 about 950 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2,000× more
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
The largest earthquake within 50 km (31 mi) since our catalogue begins in 2016. The previous largest was M 4.6 on 2021-12-28.
Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 32.1910, -102.1410. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin County, TX | 21 km (13 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Martin County |
| Midland County, TX | 44 km (27 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Midland County |
| Andrews County, TX | 49 km (30 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Andrews County |
| Ector County, TX | 52 km (33 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Ector County |
| Dawson County, TX | 64 km (40 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Dawson County |
| Howard County, TX | 67 km (42 mi) | E | earthquakes near Howard County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 37 km ENE of McKinney Acres, Texas
- 2.9 13 km NNW of Midland, Texas
- 1.7 13 km ESE of Stanton, Texas
- 1.5 13 km ESE of Stanton, Texas
- 1.8 22 km NNW of Midland, Texas
- 2.0 36 km SSW of Los Ybanez, Texas
- 2.2 13 km NNE of Midland, Texas
- 2.0 36 km SSW of Los Ybanez, Texas
- 1.7 32 km SSW of Los Ybanez, Texas
- 1.9 11 km N of Midland, Texas
- 2.3 western Texas
- 1.7 8 km S of Ackerly, Texas
- 3.1 20 km NW of Stanton, Texas
- 2.3 32 km SSW of Los Ybanez, Texas
- 1.8 6 km SE of Gardendale, Texas
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.