Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Loving, NM
No earthquake was likely felt in Loving in the 24 hours to 5:29 am MST (12:29 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 39 km (24 mi) W, at 4:44 am MST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Loving
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 34 km (21 mi) south-southeast of Loving, NM, at 5:22 am MST on 12 January 2023 (12:22 UTC), 7.4 km deep.
USGS: 26 km S of Malaga, New Mexico
- When
- 5:22 am MST on 12 January 2023 ()
- Where
- 34 km (21 mi) south-southeast of Loving, NM · earthquakes near Loving
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Loving County, 46 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 580 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Loving, NM
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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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Loving, 34 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 lb of TNT
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 in our catalogue was M 5.4 on 2022-11-16 — about 710,000 times the energy of this one.
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 31.9860, -104.0200. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loving County, TX | 46 km (29 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Loving County |
| Eddy County, NM | 59 km (37 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Eddy County |
| Culberson County, TX | 77 km (48 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Culberson County |
| Reeves County, TX | 81 km (50 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Reeves County |
| Winkler County, TX | 93 km (58 mi) | E | earthquakes near Winkler County |
| Ward County, TX | 101 km (63 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Ward County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 54 km S of Whites City, New Mexico
- 1.5 38 km NNW of Toyah, Texas
- 2.0 western Texas
- 2.4 39 km W of Mentone, Texas
- 1.9 39 km W of Mentone, Texas
- 2.3 39 km W of Mentone, Texas
- 1.5 45 km NW of Toyah, Texas
- 2.0 54 km S of Whites City, New Mexico
- 1.9 56 km S of Whites City, New Mexico
- 2.2 36 km NNW of Toyah, Texas
- 2.1 45 km NW of Toyah, Texas
- 2.0 45 km NW of Toyah, Texas
- 2.1 44 km NW of Toyah, Texas
- 2.3 58 km S of Whites City, New Mexico
- 1.8 48 km W of Mentone, 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.