QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Jal, NM

No earthquake was likely felt in Jal in the 24 hours to 7:12 am MST (14:12 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 17 km (11 mi) SSW, at 3:01 pm MDT on 30 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Jal

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 28 km (17 mi) southwest of Jal, NM, at 5:43 am MDT on 5 August 2026 (11:43 UTC), 6.2 km deep.

USGS: 28 km SW of Jal, New Mexico

99 km (62 mi) W of Odessa, TX

5:43 am MDT, Aug 5, 2026 · · 6.2 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Loving County 18 kmWinkler County 34 kmWard County 54 kmReeves County 75 kmEctor County 81 kmAndrews County 83 kmLea County 96 kmCrane County 103 kmEddy County 104 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
5:43 am MDT on 5 August 2026 ()
Where
28 km (17 mi) southwest of Jal, NM · earthquakes near Jal
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
6.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Loving County, 18 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 57 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 46 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In Jal, 28 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: Jal 28 km, intensity II · Kermit 30 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 4.0 on 2021-07-19 — about 180 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 31.9280, -103.3970. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Loving County, TX 18 km (11 mi) WSW earthquakes near Loving County
Winkler County, TX 34 km (21 mi) ESE earthquakes near Winkler County
Ward County, TX 54 km (33 mi) SSE earthquakes near Ward County
Reeves County, TX 75 km (47 mi) SSW earthquakes near Reeves County
Ector County, TX 81 km (50 mi) E earthquakes near Ector County
Andrews County, TX 83 km (52 mi) ENE earthquakes near Andrews 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. 2.1 40 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
  2. 1.5 40 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
  3. 2.3 40 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
  4. 2.1 40 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
  5. 1.5 41 km N of Mentone, Texas
  6. 1.6 40 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
  7. 2.0 40 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
  8. 1.5 32 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
  9. 2.4 32 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
  10. 1.6 18 km SW of Jal, New Mexico
  11. 2.6 19 km NNW of Jal, New Mexico
  12. 1.7 16 km WNW of Mentone, Texas
  13. 1.6 16 km NW of Mentone, Texas
  14. 1.5 33 km SSE of Malaga, New Mexico
  15. 1.5 12 km SSW of Jal, New Mexico

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.