Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Jal, NM
USGS: 39 km ESE of Malaga, New Mexico
- When
- 11:38 pm MDT on 30 September 2026 ()
- Where
- 48 km (30 mi) W of Jal, NM · earthquakes near Jal
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.5 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Loving County, 27 km SSE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2 days ago
A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) W of Jal, NM, at 11:38 pm MDT on 30 September 2026 (05:38 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 180,000 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 32.0550, -103.7010. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loving County, TX | 27 km (17 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Loving County |
| Winkler County, TX | 66 km (41 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Winkler County |
| Eddy County, NM | 72 km (45 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Eddy County |
| Ward County, TX | 82 km (51 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Ward County |
| Reeves County, TX | 83 km (52 mi) | S | earthquakes near Reeves County |
| Lea County, NM | 87 km (54 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Lea County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
1 earthquake has been recorded within 50 km since this one.
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.