QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Midland, TX

No earthquake was likely felt in Midland in the 24 hours to 10:44 am CST (16:44 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 35 km (22 mi) ESE, at 4:17 am CST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Midland

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 43 km (27 mi) north-northeast of Midland, TX, at 11:05 am CDT on 23 October 2026 (16:05 UTC), 7.3 km deep.

USGS: 25 km SW of Ackerly, Texas

42 km (26 mi) NNE of Midland, TX

11:05 am CDT, Oct 23, 2026 · · 7.3 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Martin County 8 kmDawson County 43 kmHoward County 44 kmBorden County 61 kmMidland County 61 kmGlasscock County 65 kmAndrews County 69 kmGaines County 80 kmEctor County 81 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
11:05 am CDT on 23 October 2026 ()
Where
43 km (27 mi) north-northeast of Midland, TX · earthquakes near Midland
Texas today
every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
7.3 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Martin County, 8 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 19 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Midland, 43 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Stanton.

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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. 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 5.2 on 2022-12-16 — about 350,000 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 32.3590, -101.9050. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Martin County, TX 8 km (5 mi) SW earthquakes near Martin County
Dawson County, TX 43 km (27 mi) N earthquakes near Dawson County
Howard County, TX 44 km (27 mi) E earthquakes near Howard County
Borden County, TX 61 km (38 mi) NE earthquakes near Borden County
Midland County, TX 61 km (38 mi) S earthquakes near Midland County
Glasscock County, TX 65 km (41 mi) SSE earthquakes near Glasscock County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 0.7 31 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas
  2. 0.6 34 km SSW of Los Ybanez, Texas
  3. 0.6 8 km E of Midland, Texas
  4. 0.6 11 km W of Forsan, Texas
  5. 1.2 10 km W of Forsan, Texas
  6. 0.6 36 km SSW of Los Ybanez, Texas
  7. 1.4 36 km SSW of Los Ybanez, Texas
  8. 0.9 23 km NNW of Midland, Texas
  9. 0.9 24 km SW of Ackerly, Texas
  10. 1.4 28 km WSW of Ackerly, Texas
  11. 2.1 17 km SSE of Ackerly, Texas
  12. 1.8 23 km SW of Ackerly, Texas
  13. 2.3 11 km WSW of Stanton, Texas
  14. 1.5 11 km WSW of Stanton, Texas
  15. 1.6 11 km WSW of Stanton, Texas

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.