An earthquake of magnitude 4.4 occurred early morning on Sunday, October 12th, 2025, at 1:09 am local time near Big Spring, Howard County, Texas, USA, as reported by the United States Geological Survey.According to preliminary data, the quake was located at a very shallow depth of 3.1 miles. Shallow earthquakes are felt more strongly than deeper ones as they are closer to the surface. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.A second report was later issued by The Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), which listed it as a magnitude 4.4 earthquake as well.Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake was probably felt by many people in the area of the epicenter. It should not have caused significant damage, other than objects falling from shelves, broken windows, etc. In Westbrook (pop. 250) located 4 miles from the epicenter, the quake should have been felt as light shaking.Weak shaking might have been felt in Colorado City (pop. 4,100) located 12 miles from the epicenter, Big Spring (pop. 28,900) 25 miles away, and Snyder (pop. 11,800) 29 miles away.Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Sweetwater (pop. 10,800) located 39 miles from the epicenter, Stanton (pop. 2,900) 45 miles away, and Midland (pop. 133,000) 64 miles away.VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.Earthquake data: Date & time: Oct 12, 2025 01:09 am (GMT -5) local time (12 Oct 2025 06:09 GMT)Magnitude: 4.4Depth: 5.00 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude: 32.31°N / 101.05°W (Mitchell County, Texas, United States)Primary data source: USGS