QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Loving, NM

No earthquake was likely felt in Loving in the 24 hours to 5:30 am MST (12:30 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 41 km (26 mi) south-southeast of Loving, NM, at 2:36 pm MDT on 6 September 2026 (20:36 UTC), 7.9 km deep.

USGS: 33 km SSE of Malaga, New Mexico

2:36 pm MDT, Sep 6, 2026 · · 7.9 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Loving County 34 kmEddy County 68 kmReeves County 74 kmWinkler County 81 kmCulberson County 82 kmWard County 90 kmLea 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
2:36 pm MDT on 6 September 2026 ()
Where
41 km (26 mi) south-southeast of Loving, NM · earthquakes near Loving
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
7.9 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Loving County, 34 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 64 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 Loving, 41 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 in our catalogue was M 5.4 on 2022-11-16 — about 250,000 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 31.9570, -103.8980. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Loving County, TX 34 km (21 mi) ESE earthquakes near Loving County
Eddy County, NM 68 km (42 mi) NW earthquakes near Eddy County
Reeves County, TX 74 km (46 mi) SSE earthquakes near Reeves County
Winkler County, TX 81 km (50 mi) E earthquakes near Winkler County
Culberson County, TX 82 km (51 mi) SW earthquakes near Culberson County
Ward County, TX 90 km (56 mi) ESE earthquakes near Ward County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 40 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
  2. 2.4 22 km NNW of Toyah, Texas
  3. 1.5 32 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
  4. 2.4 32 km SE of Malaga, New Mexico
  5. 1.5 30 km NNW of Toyah, Texas
  6. 2.9 47 km S of Whites City, New Mexico
  7. 2.1 49 km NW of Toyah, Texas
  8. 1.6 49 km NW of Toyah, Texas
  9. 1.7 49 km SSE of Whites City, New Mexico
  10. 1.7 57 km NW of Toyah, Texas
  11. 1.7 16 km WNW of Mentone, Texas
  12. 1.9 44 km NW of Toyah, Texas
  13. 1.8 42 km SSE of Whites City, New Mexico
  14. 1.8 45 km NW of Toyah, Texas
  15. 1.7 51 km SSE of Whites City, 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.