QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Kermit, TX

No earthquake was likely felt in Kermit in the 24 hours to 3:47 pm CST (21:47 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 22 km (14 mi) NW, at 4:01 pm CDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Kermit

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) west of Kermit, TX, at 4:06 pm CDT on 4 September 2024 (21:06 UTC), 6.5 km deep.

USGS: 21 km NNE of Mentone, Texas

4:06 pm CDT, Sep 4, 2024 · · 6.5 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Loving County 8 kmWinkler County 41 kmWard County 54 kmReeves County 67 kmEctor County 89 kmAndrews County 93 kmEddy County 101 kmLea County 102 kmCrane County 107 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
4:06 pm CDT on 4 September 2024 ()
Where
37 km (23 mi) west of Kermit, TX · earthquakes near Kermit
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
6.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Loving County, 8 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 797 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Kermit, 37 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 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 89× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 4.0 on 2021-07-19 — about 2,800 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 31.8760, -103.4840. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Loving County, TX 8 km (5 mi) WSW earthquakes near Loving County
Winkler County, TX 41 km (25 mi) E earthquakes near Winkler County
Ward County, TX 54 km (34 mi) SE earthquakes near Ward County
Reeves County, TX 67 km (41 mi) SSW earthquakes near Reeves County
Ector County, TX 89 km (55 mi) E earthquakes near Ector County
Andrews County, TX 93 km (58 mi) ENE earthquakes near Andrews County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 32 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
  2. 1.6 12 km NNW of Mentone, Texas
  3. 1.6 5 km WNW of Pecos, Texas
  4. 2.0 5 km WNW of Pecos, Texas
  5. 1.6 3 km NW of Pecos, Texas
  6. 1.5 11 km W of Pyote, Texas
  7. 2.0 22 km NNE of Mentone, Texas
  8. 1.6 37 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
  9. 1.7 22 km NNE of Mentone, Texas
  10. 1.8 34 km NNW of Mentone, Texas
  11. 1.6 34 km NNW of Mentone, Texas
  12. 1.6 34 km NNW of Mentone, Texas
  13. 1.5 34 km NNW of Mentone, Texas
  14. 2.0 21 km NNE of Mentone, Texas
  15. 1.5 34 km NNW 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

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