Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Big Spring, TX
USGS: 19 km NW of Westbrook, Texas
- When
- 3:39 am CDT on 2 October 2026 ()
- Where
- 39 km (24 mi) NE of Big Spring, TX · earthquakes near Big Spring
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 6.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Mitchell County, 30 km SE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 8 hours ago
A magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 39 km (24 mi) NE of Big Spring, TX, at 3:39 am CDT on 2 October 2026 (08:39 UTC). This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Colorado City.
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 since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2025-10-12 — about 16,000 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 32.4780, -101.1630. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell County, TX | 30 km (18 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Mitchell County |
| Howard County, TX | 32 km (20 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Howard County |
| Scurry County, TX | 38 km (23 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Scurry County |
| Borden County, TX | 39 km (24 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Borden County |
| Sterling County, TX | 72 km (45 mi) | S | earthquakes near Sterling County |
| Nolan County, TX | 72 km (45 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Nolan County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
No further earthquakes have 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.