QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Midland, TX

No earthquake was likely felt in Midland in the 24 hours to 2:55 am CST (08:55 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 35 km (22 mi) ESE, at 4:17 am CST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Midland

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) north-northeast of Midland, TX, at 12:06 pm CDT on 19 May 2026 (17:06 UTC), 6.6 km deep.

USGS: 20 km SW of Ackerly, Texas

47 km (29 mi) NNE of Midland, TX

12:06 pm CDT, May 19, 2026 · · 6.6 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Martin County 13 kmDawson County 39 kmHoward County 42 kmBorden County 55 kmMidland County 66 kmGlasscock County 67 kmAndrews County 73 kmGaines County 81 kmEctor County 87 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
12:06 pm CDT on 19 May 2026 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) north-northeast of Midland, TX · earthquakes near Midland
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
6.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Martin County, 13 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 177 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Midland, 49 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 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 5.2 on 2022-12-16 — about 130,000 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 32.3980, -101.8710. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Martin County, TX 13 km (8 mi) SW earthquakes near Martin County
Dawson County, TX 39 km (24 mi) N earthquakes near Dawson County
Howard County, TX 42 km (26 mi) ESE earthquakes near Howard County
Borden County, TX 55 km (34 mi) NE earthquakes near Borden County
Midland County, TX 66 km (41 mi) S earthquakes near Midland County
Glasscock County, TX 67 km (42 mi) SSE earthquakes near Glasscock 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.

  1. 2.0 33 km E of McKinney Acres, Texas
  2. 2.0 12 km SSW of Ackerly, Texas
  3. 1.8 38 km ENE of McKinney Acres, Texas
  4. 1.6 17 km SE of Ackerly, Texas
  5. 1.7 11 km WSW of Stanton, Texas
  6. 3.1 12 km WSW of Stanton, Texas
  7. 1.5 13 km WSW of Stanton, Texas
  8. 1.7 34 km SSW of Los Ybanez, Texas
  9. 1.7 12 km WSW of Stanton, Texas
  10. 2.3 12 km WSW of Stanton, Texas
  11. 3.1 12 km WSW of Stanton, Texas
  12. 1.7 31 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas
  13. 1.7 31 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas
  14. 1.8 31 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas
  15. 2.4 31 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

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