QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Loving, NM

No earthquake was likely felt in Loving in the 24 hours to 6:10 am MST (13:10 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 2.5 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) southeast of Loving, NM, at 1:22 am MDT on 16 May 2026 (07:22 UTC), 7.8 km deep.

USGS: 37 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico

1:22 am MDT, May 16, 2026 · · 7.8 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Loving County 29 kmWinkler County 68 kmEddy County 70 kmReeves County 85 kmWard County 85 kmLea County 86 kmCulberson County 103 kmAndrews County 105 kmEctor County 114 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
1:22 am MDT on 16 May 2026 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) southeast of Loving, NM · earthquakes near Loving
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
7.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Loving County, 29 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 111 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 45 km (28 mi) from the epicentre. In Loving, 42 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.

Likely felt in: Loving 42 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 5.0 on 2020-03-26 — about 5,600 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 32.0700, -103.7240. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Loving County, TX 29 km (18 mi) SSE earthquakes near Loving County
Winkler County, TX 68 km (43 mi) ESE earthquakes near Winkler County
Eddy County, NM 70 km (43 mi) NW earthquakes near Eddy County
Reeves County, TX 85 km (53 mi) S earthquakes near Reeves County
Ward County, TX 85 km (53 mi) SE earthquakes near Ward County
Lea County, NM 86 km (53 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lea County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 34 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
  2. 1.5 33 km SSE of Malaga, New Mexico
  3. 2.6 35 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
  4. 1.6 34 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
  5. 1.8 35 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
  6. 1.7 35 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
  7. 2.1 35 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
  8. 1.5 35 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
  9. 1.5 35 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
  10. 1.9 34 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
  11. 1.7 35 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
  12. 2.2 2 km NNW of Jal, New Mexico
  13. 1.5 23 km WNW of Mentone, Texas
  14. 1.5 23 km WNW of Mentone, Texas
  15. 1.9 23 km WNW 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.