M1.6 earthquake 48 km SE of Midland, Texas, United States
A magnitude 1.6 earthquake struck 48 km SE of Midland, Texas, United States at 04:49 local time (09:49 UTC) on 24 Sept 2026, at a depth of 5 km, according to USGS.
Data: USGS · updated 2026-09-24 21:45 UTC · reviewed
- Magnitude
- 1.6micro
local magnitude (Richter) (ml) - Depth
- 5.3 km
- Status
- Reviewed
- Origin time
- 2026-09-24 09:49:16 UTC
- Local: 24 Sept 2026, 04:49:16 (America/Chicago)
- Epicentre
- 31.689° N, 101.725° W
Circles show this event and others within 30 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Est. shaking |
|---|---|---|
| MidlandTexas, United States · pop. 132,524 | 48 km | INot felt |
| OdessaTexas, United States · pop. 114,428 | 64 km | INot felt |
| Big SpringTexas, United States · pop. 28,862 | 67 km | INot felt |
| West OdessaTexas, United States · pop. 22,707 | 75 km | INot felt |
| San AntonioTexas, United States · pop. 1,526,656 | 399 km | INot felt |
Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more.
Every agency's solution
Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses USGS · TX, which has been reviewed by an analyst.
| Agency | Magnitude | Depth | Epicentre | Time offset | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USGS · TXheadlineTexNet via U.S. Geological Survey | 1.6 ml | 5.3 km | 31.69° N, 101.72° W | – | Reviewed |
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How big was it?
Usually not felt. Recorded by nearby seismometers; thousands occur worldwide every day.
It released roughly the energy of 4 kg of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 5 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.
M1.6 releases about 7.9× the energy of M1.0, and its waves are about 4× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 4 kg of TNT vs 477 g of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M1.0. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
15 later earthquakes within 30 km; the largest was M3.2 4 days ago. 12 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Mainshock M1.6
15 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).
| Time after mainshock (hours) | Magnitude | Depth (km) |
|---|---|---|
| 7.57 | 2.7 | 6 |
| 10.73 | 3.2 | 5 |
| 11.05 | 1.1 | 5 |
| 11.13 | 2.8 | 5 |
| 12.78 | 2.3 | 5 |
| 12.87 | 1.6 | 5 |
| 12.93 | 1.0 | 5 |
| 19.34 | 0.7 | 8 |
| 20.46 | 0.9 | 5 |
| 21.48 | 0.1 | 4 |
| 33.79 | 1.9 | 6 |
| 34.19 | 2.3 | 5 |
| 90.95 | 1.7 | 9 |
| 102.36 | 1.7 | 5 |
| 102.90 | 1.5 | 9 |
- 3.249 km SE of Midland, Texas, United States09-24 20:33
- 2.848 km SE of Midland, Texas, United States09-24 20:57
- 2.749 km SE of Midland, Texas, United States09-24 17:23
- 2.348 km SE of Midland, Texas, United States09-24 22:35
- 2.348 km SE of Midland, Texas, United States09-25 20:00
- 1.938 km ESE of Midland, Texas, United States09-25 19:36
- 1.748 km SE of Midland, Texas, United States09-28 04:46
- 1.748 km SE of Midland, Texas, United States09-28 16:11
- 1.648 km SE of Midland, Texas, United States09-24 22:41
- 1.534 km ESE of Midland, Texas, United States09-28 16:43
- 1.148 km SE of Midland, Texas, United States09-24 20:52
- 1.048 km SE of Midland, Texas, United States09-24 22:45
- 0.934 km SSE of Midland, Texas, United States09-25 06:16
- 0.734 km ESE of Midland, Texas, United States09-25 05:09
- 0.148 km SE of Midland, Texas, United States09-25 07:18
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
Reports on SeismoAtlas
No reports yet.
Event id tx2026svarvu. First recorded here 28 Sept 2026, 17:32:10 UTC. Solutions: USGS · TX (usgs:tx2026svarvu). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M1.6 earthquake 48 km SE of Midland, Texas, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/tx2026svarvu-m1-6-earthquake-48-km-se-of-midland-texas-united-states, data from USGS.
JSON: /api/v1/events/tx2026svarvu. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.