QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.9ml

Earthquake near Karnes City, TX

No earthquake was likely felt in Karnes City in the 24 hours to 11:41 pm CST (05:41 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 37 km (23 mi) W, at 1:55 am CDT on 20 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Karnes City

This page: a magnitude 3.9 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) west-northwest of Karnes City, TX, at 9:49 pm CST on 16 February 2024 (03:49 UTC), 7.8 km deep. 41 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3 km S of Falls City, Texas

75 km (47 mi) SE of San Antonio, TX

9:49 pm CST, Feb 16, 2024 · · 7.8 km deep · released about 11 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Karnes City Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Karnes County 17 kmWilson County 26 kmAtascosa County 50 kmBee County 65 kmDeWitt County 66 kmGoliad County 66 kmLive Oak County 67 kmGuadalupe County 71 kmBexar County 74 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
9:49 pm CST on 16 February 2024 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) west-northwest of Karnes City, TX · earthquakes near Karnes City
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 3.9 (ml)
Depth
7.8 km below the surface
Felt
41 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity V (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert
green
Nearest
Karnes County, 17 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 497 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 431 km (268 mi) from the epicentre. In Karnes City, 14 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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: Karnes City 14 km, intensity IV · Floresville 24 km, intensity IV · Stockdale 33 km, intensity IV · Nixon 43 km, intensity III · Pleasanton 44 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 710× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.9 about 11 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 22× 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 since 2016 was M 4.1 on 2023-09-14 — about 2 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 28.9490, -98.0240. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Karnes County, TX 17 km (11 mi) ESE earthquakes near Karnes County
Wilson County, TX 26 km (16 mi) NNW earthquakes near Wilson County
Atascosa County, TX 50 km (31 mi) W earthquakes near Atascosa County
Bee County, TX 65 km (41 mi) SSE earthquakes near Bee County
DeWitt County, TX 66 km (41 mi) ENE earthquakes near DeWitt County
Goliad County, TX 66 km (41 mi) ESE earthquakes near Goliad County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.1 1 km SE of Falls City, Texas
  2. 1.9 4 km S of Falls City, Texas
  3. 1.9 2 km SE of Falls City, Texas
  4. 3.4 0 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  5. 1.9 18 km WSW of Falls City, Texas
  6. 1.6 17 km WSW of Falls City, Texas
  7. 2.0 18 km WSW of Falls City, Texas
  8. 1.9 1 km NE of Falls City, Texas
  9. 1.9 18 km WSW of Falls City, Texas
  10. 2.1 0 km S of Falls City, Texas
  11. 1.6 2 km S of Falls City, Texas
  12. 1.8 2 km SSE of Falls City, Texas
  13. 2.1 1 km SE of Falls City, Texas
  14. 2.7 21 km ENE of Falls City, Texas
  15. 1.7 21 km SSW of Nixon, 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.