Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8mb_lg
Earthquake near Cotulla, TX
Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Cotulla in the last 24 hours. M 3.2, 57 km (35 mi) NNE of Cotulla, at 3:20 am CST on 12 November 2026 (09:20 UTC); the estimated shaking in Cotulla was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Cotulla
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) east of Cotulla, TX, at 12:37 am CDT on 20 March 2019 (05:37 UTC), 5.0 km deep.
USGS: 3 km E of Cotulla, Texas
- When
- 12:37 am CDT on 20 March 2019 ()
- Where
- 4 km (2 mi) east of Cotulla, TX · earthquakes near Cotulla
- Texas today
- every earthquake in Texas in the last 24 hours
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (mb_lg)
- Depth
- 5.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- La Salle County, 14 km SE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 498 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Cotulla, TX
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Cotulla, TX. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 62 km (39 mi) from the epicentre. In Cotulla, 4 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: Dilley 26 km, intensity III. 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
- 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
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 28.4383, -99.1952. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| La Salle County, TX | 14 km (8 mi) | SE | earthquakes near La Salle County |
| Frio County, TX | 49 km (30 mi) | N | earthquakes near Frio County |
| Dimmit County, TX | 56 km (35 mi) | W | earthquakes near Dimmit County |
| McMullen County, TX | 61 km (38 mi) | E | earthquakes near McMullen County |
| Zavala County, TX | 73 km (45 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Zavala County |
| Webb County, TX | 77 km (48 mi) | S | earthquakes near Webb County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
39 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 15 km NW of Fowlerton, Texas
- 1.6 24 km NNW of Fowlerton, Texas
- 2.1 22 km NNW of Fowlerton, Texas
- 2.4 24 km NNW of Fowlerton, Texas
- 1.8 14 km NNW of Fowlerton, Texas
- 1.8 15 km NW of Fowlerton, Texas
- 1.9 15 km NW of Fowlerton, Texas
- 1.8 7 km N of Hilltop, Texas
- 1.8 25 km SW of Charlotte, Texas
- 1.9 25 km SW of Charlotte, Texas
- 2.1 11 km SSE of Pearsall, Texas
- 1.7 6 km SSE of Fowlerton, Texas
- 1.9 20 km SW of Charlotte, Texas
- 2.0 13 km SSW of Fowlerton, Texas
- 2.0 11 km SSW of Fowlerton, 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
- 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.