QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7ml

Earthquake near Midland, TX

USGS: 21 km NNW of Midland, Texas

18 km (11 mi) NNW of Midland, TX

7:27 am CDT, Oct 5, 2026 · · 9.4 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Martin County 25 kmMidland County 43 kmAndrews County 46 kmEctor County 49 kmDawson County 66 kmGlasscock County 70 kmHoward County 70 kmGaines County 76 kmCrane County 89 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
7:27 am CDT on 5 October 2026 ()
Where
22 km (14 mi) NNW of Midland, TX · earthquakes near Midland
Magnitude
M 2.7 (ml)
Depth
9.4 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Martin County, 25 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1 hour ago

A magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 22 km (14 mi) NNW of Midland, TX, at 7:27 am CDT on 5 October 2026 (12:27 UTC). 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Gardendale.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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 5,600 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 32.1760, -102.1730. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Martin County, TX 25 km (15 mi) NE earthquakes near Martin County
Midland County, TX 43 km (27 mi) SSE earthquakes near Midland County
Andrews County, TX 46 km (29 mi) WNW earthquakes near Andrews County
Ector County, TX 49 km (30 mi) SW earthquakes near Ector County
Dawson County, TX 66 km (41 mi) NNE earthquakes near Dawson County
Glasscock County, TX 70 km (44 mi) ESE earthquakes near Glasscock 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

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