QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Cuero, TX

No earthquake was likely felt in Cuero in the 24 hours to 10:44 am CST (16:44 UTC). The last one was M 2.7, 47 km (29 mi) NNE, at 2:54 pm CDT on 25 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 8 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Cuero

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 30 km (19 mi) west-northwest of Cuero, TX, at 1:19 am CDT on 19 September 2023 (06:19 UTC), 3.7 km deep.

USGS: 8 km ESE of Smiley, Texas

97 km (60 mi) ESE of San Antonio, TX

1:19 am CDT, Sep 19, 2023 · · 3.7 km deep · released about 7.6 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N DeWitt County 25 kmGonzales County 27 kmKarnes County 45 kmWilson County 51 kmGuadalupe County 55 kmGoliad County 64 kmLavaca County 64 kmCaldwell County 68 kmVictoria County 75 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
1:19 am CDT on 19 September 2023 ()
Where
30 km (19 mi) west-northwest of Cuero, TX · earthquakes near Cuero
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
3.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
DeWitt County, 25 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 378 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Cuero, 30 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Nixon, Yorktown.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.6 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 since 2016 was M 4.1 on 2023-09-14 — about 5,600 times the energy of this one.

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 29.2240, -97.5610. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
DeWitt County, TX 25 km (16 mi) SE earthquakes near DeWitt County
Gonzales County, TX 27 km (17 mi) NNE earthquakes near Gonzales County
Karnes County, TX 45 km (28 mi) SW earthquakes near Karnes County
Wilson County, TX 51 km (32 mi) W earthquakes near Wilson County
Guadalupe County, TX 55 km (34 mi) NW earthquakes near Guadalupe County
Goliad County, TX 64 km (40 mi) SSE earthquakes near Goliad County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

30 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.7 11 km S of Smiley, Texas
  2. 1.9 14 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  3. 1.6 15 km E of Smiley, Texas
  4. 1.9 12 km S of Smiley, Texas
  5. 1.7 15 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  6. 1.6 15 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  7. 1.9 13 km S of Smiley, Texas
  8. 1.5 13 km S of Smiley, Texas
  9. 1.6 13 km S of Smiley, Texas
  10. 1.5 13 km S of Smiley, Texas
  11. 1.6 13 km S of Smiley, Texas
  12. 1.6 12 km S of Smiley, Texas
  13. 1.9 8 km SSE of Smiley, Texas
  14. 1.7 12 km S of Smiley, Texas
  15. 1.8 12 km S of Smiley, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.