Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.5mwr
Earthquake near Atoka, NM
USGS: 6 km S of Atoka, New Mexico
- When
- 4:50 pm MST on 24 February 2024 ()
- Where
- 6 km (4 mi) S of Atoka, NM · earthquakes near Atoka
- Magnitude
- M 3.5 (mwr)
- Depth
- 2.1 km below the surface
- Felt
- 11 reports · strongest reported intensity VI
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Eddy County, 30 km SSE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 883 days ago
A magnitude 3.5 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) S of Atoka, NM, at 4:50 pm MST on 24 February 2024 (23:50 UTC). 11 people have 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: Artesia.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 2.7 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 63,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.5 about 2.7 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 5.6× more
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 in our catalogue was M 4.0 on 2024-02-23 — about 5.6 times the energy of this one.
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 32.7133, -104.3958. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eddy County, NM | 30 km (18 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Eddy County |
| Chaves County, NM | 72 km (45 mi) | N | earthquakes near Chaves County |
| Lea County, NM | 92 km (57 mi) | E | earthquakes near Lea County |
| Loving County, TX | 124 km (77 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Loving County |
| Lincoln County, NM | 151 km (94 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Lincoln County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.7 19 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 3.1 14 km NW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 2.9 30 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 3.3 35 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 2.5 34 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 3.3 35 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 2.5 33 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 3.4 34 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 2.7 34 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 2.6 34 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 3.3 31 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 2.9 27 km SW of Atoka, New Mexico
- 3.5 34 km SSE of Hope, New Mexico
- 2.6 17 km NW of Whites City, New Mexico
- 2.8 16 km NNW of Whites City, New Mexico
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.