QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8ml

Earthquake near Nixon, TX

Yes. A magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) south of Nixon, TX, at 2:12 pm CDT on 18 October 2026 (19:12 UTC), 7.0 km deep. No felt reports to USGS yet.

USGS: 19 km S of Nixon, Texas

84 km (52 mi) ESE of San Antonio, TX

2:12 pm CDT, Oct 18, 2026 · · 7.0 km deep · released about 480 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Karnes County 22 kmWilson County 32 kmDeWitt County 40 kmGonzales County 49 kmGuadalupe County 57 kmGoliad County 58 kmBee County 75 kmAtascosa County 78 kmBexar County 83 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
2:12 pm CDT on 18 October 2026 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) south of Nixon, TX · earthquakes near Nixon
Magnitude
M 2.8 (ml)
Depth
7.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Karnes County, 22 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1 hour 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 61 km (38 mi) from the epicentre. In Nixon, 19 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Nixon 19 km, intensity III · Stockdale 24 km, intensity III · Karnes City 27 km, intensity III · Yorktown 29 km, intensity III · Poth 31 km, intensity III · Floresville 38 km, intensity II · Cuero 47 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 480 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 480 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 4.6 on 2025-01-30 — about 500 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 29.0940, -97.7680. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Karnes County, TX 22 km (14 mi) SSW earthquakes near Karnes County
Wilson County, TX 32 km (20 mi) WNW earthquakes near Wilson County
DeWitt County, TX 40 km (25 mi) E earthquakes near DeWitt County
Gonzales County, TX 49 km (30 mi) NNE earthquakes near Gonzales County
Guadalupe County, TX 57 km (35 mi) NNW earthquakes near Guadalupe County
Goliad County, TX 58 km (36 mi) SE earthquakes near Goliad 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.