Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 5.1ml
2024 North of Tarzan, Texas Earthquake
Yes. A magnitude 5.1 earthquake was recorded 2024 North of Tarzan, Texas Earthquake, 43 km (27 mi) N of Midland, TX, at 7:49 pm CDT on 16 September 2024 (00:49 UTC), 6.1 km deep. 2,031 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
43 km (27 mi) N of Midland, TX
- When
- Magnitude
- M 5.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2,031 reports · strongest reported intensity VI
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Martin County, 14 km SE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 72 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Lamesa, TX
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Lamesa, 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 797 km (495 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Lamesa 38 km, intensity V · Stanton 40 km, intensity V · Midland 46 km, intensity V. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 670 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 6.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7.9× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 5.1 about 670 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1,400× 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 in our catalogue was M 5.2 on 2022-12-16 — about 1.4 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 32.4110, -102.0570. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martin County, TX | 14 km (9 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Martin County |
| Dawson County, TX | 38 km (24 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Dawson County |
| Andrews County, TX | 56 km (35 mi) | W | earthquakes near Andrews County |
| Howard County, TX | 59 km (37 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Howard County |
| Gaines County, TX | 65 km (41 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Gaines County |
| Midland County, TX | 67 km (41 mi) | S | earthquakes near Midland County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 36 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas
- 1.6 35 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas
- 2.0 16 km NNW of Midland, Texas
- 2.1 15 km NNW of Midland, Texas
- 1.5 33 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas
- 1.8 33 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas
- 1.8 33 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas
- 2.0 37 km NW of Stanton, Texas
- 1.7 35 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas
- 1.9 35 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas
- 2.0 21 km NNW of Midland, Texas
- 2.1 35 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas
- 3.2 34 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas
- 1.6 21 km SSW of Ackerly, Texas
- 1.9 34 km WSW of Ackerly, 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.