M1.4 Earthquake near Fort Stockton, United States — 05 October 2026
A micro earthquake of magnitude 1.4 was recorded near Fort Stockton, United States on , with an epicentre 31 km west of Fort Stockton, at a focal depth of 5.8 km. It ranked as the 3181st strongest of 6798 earthquakes recorded in the United States in the preceding 30 days.
Time (UTC): 2026-10-05 21:35:03
Time (your timezone): —
Magnitude: 1.4 (micro)
Focal depth: 5.8 km (shallow)
Epicentre: 30.9150, -103.2090
Location: 31 km W of Fort Stockton, Texas
Country: United States
USGS link to NOAA tsunami information: Not linked
Review status: Reviewed
Source: USGS event page
How strong was this earthquake?
Micro earthquakes are almost never felt at the surface and are recorded only by seismographs.
A magnitude 1.4 earthquake radiates roughly 1.9 kg of TNT equivalent in seismic energy.
The USGS assigns this earthquake a significance score of 30, which is below the USGS threshold of more than 600 for its significant-earthquake list. The ranking combines magnitude with available Did You Feel It responses and PAGER alert level; it is not a direct measurement of damage.
What the magnitude scale actually measures →
When it happened locally
That is about 14:42 local solar time at the epicentre, during the afternoon.
This event was shallower than 51% of the 161,026 earthquakes recorded in the United States in our catalogue and stronger than 56% of them.
Where was the epicentre?
The epicentre was located at 30.9150, -103.2090 — 31 km west of Fort Stockton. The closest other recorded event was a magnitude 2.1 earthquake 107 km northwest of here on 07 October 2026.
The nearest other settlement in our records is Ackerly (212 km northeast).
Why the 6 km depth matters
At 6 km this was a shallow earthquake. Shallow events release their energy close to the surface, so for a given magnitude they produce noticeably stronger shaking — and more damage — than deeper ones. Roughly three quarters of all earthquakes worldwide occur at shallow depths.
This catalogue does not ingest eyewitness responses, so it cannot confirm where this earthquake was felt. Based on magnitude alone, events this small are usually detected by instruments rather than people. Its shallow focus makes stronger surface shaking more likely than for a deeper event of the same magnitude.
Read more on how focal depth changes what you feel →
What does the tsunami information flag mean?
The USGS record does not carry a link to NOAA tsunami information. That field is not an all-clear and does not state whether a tsunami occurred. In this case, a damaging tsunami would be less likely because at M1.4 it falls below the magnitude 6.5 threshold that generally applies before a submarine earthquake displaces enough water to generate a damaging tsunami; it occurred inland rather than beneath the sea floor. For an active coastal alert, use tsunami.gov or your local warning authority.
How earthquakes generate tsunamis, and what the alert levels mean →
Aftershocks and local seismic history
26 further earthquakes have been recorded within about 150 km of the epicentre in the 1 day since this event, the largest of them magnitude 2.4.
15 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or above have been logged within roughly 200 km of this epicentre in our catalogue. The strongest was a magnitude 5.4 event near Whites City on 04 May 2025. This M1.4 event released about 1.0 million times less energy than that event.
1855 earthquakes have been recorded within 100 km of this epicentre in the past year, 142 of them in the past 30 days.
How long aftershock sequences last, and how large they get →
Where this event sits in the record
This earthquake is part of the October 2026 worldwide record, and of earthquakes in the United States during October 2026. Browse the full monthly archive to compare periods.
Nearest recorded earthquakes to this epicentre
- M2.1 earthquake near Toyah, United States — (107 km NW)
- M1.8 earthquake near Toyah, United States — (112 km NW)
- M1.5 earthquake near Jal, United States — (122 km N)
- M1.1 earthquake near Crane, United States — (126 km NE)
- M0.9 earthquake near Malaga, United States — (134 km NNW)
- M1.8 earthquake near Whites City, United States — (134 km NW)
- M1.5 earthquake near Malaga, United States — (135 km NNW)
- M1.8 earthquake near Whites City, United States — (135 km NW)
- M1.6 earthquake near Malaga, United States — (135 km NNW)
- M1.2 earthquake near Malaga, United States — (136 km NNW)
Other recent earthquakes in the United States
- M0.1 earthquake near Pedro Bay, United States —
- M1.7 earthquake near Clam Gulch, United States —
- M0.7 earthquake near The Geysers, United States —
- M1.0 earthquake near The Geysers, United States —
- M2.0 earthquake near Arctic Village, United States —
- M1.8 earthquake near Middletown, United States —
- M1.8 earthquake near Pāhala, United States —
- M1.4 earthquake near Chickaloon, United States —
- M2.1 earthquake near Fritz Creek, United States —
- M1.1 earthquake near The Geysers, United States —
Other magnitude 1 earthquakes worldwide
- M1.4 earthquake near Chickaloon, United States —
- M1.5 earthquake near Coso Junction, United States —
- M1.5 earthquake near Tres Pinos, United States —
- M1.5 earthquake near Salamatof, United States —
- M1.3 earthquake near Manley Hot Springs, United States —
- M1.2 earthquake near Colton, United States —
- M1.2 earthquake near Lake Aluma, United States —
- M1.3 earthquake near Cobb, United States —
Questions about this earthquake
How strong was the earthquake near Fort Stockton?
It measured magnitude 1.4 — a micro earthquake. A magnitude 1.4 earthquake radiates roughly 1.9 kg of TNT equivalent in seismic energy.
How deep was the earthquake near Fort Stockton?
The focus was 6 km below the surface, which counts as shallow.
Was the Fort Stockton earthquake felt at the surface?
At magnitude 1.4 and a focal depth of 6 km, shaking would have been concentrated near the epicentre.
When did the earthquake near Fort Stockton happen?
05 October 2026 at 21:35 UTC.
Was there a tsunami?
No. The USGS record carries no tsunami-information link for this event.
Have there been aftershocks?
26 further earthquakes have been recorded within about 150 km of the epicentre in the 1 day since this event, the largest of them magnitude 2.4.
How often do earthquakes happen near Fort Stockton?
15 earthquakes of magnitude 4 or above have been logged within roughly 200 km of this epicentre in our catalogue. The strongest was a magnitude 5.4 event near Whites City on 04 May 2025. This M1.4 event released about 1.0 million times less energy than that event.