Every recorded earthquake within 30 km
Earthquakes near Mission Viejo, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Mission Viejo in the 24 hours to 1:03 am PDT (08:03 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 44 km (27 mi) SSW, at 1:22 pm PDT on 5 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 126 felt reports to USGS.
M 3.0
Latest: 11:17 pm PDT on 11 August 2026 · 26 km (16 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA
The most recent earthquake of M2.5 or more near Mission Viejo was M 3.0, 26 km (16 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA, at 11:17 pm PDT on 11 August 2026, 3 km deep. 402 people reported feeling it to USGS. The estimated shaking in Mission Viejo was intensity II (weak), felt by some people at rest indoors. 6 smaller earthquakes have been recorded near Mission Viejo since; the newest is first in the list below.
No earthquake of M1.5 or more was recorded within 30 km (19 mi) of Mission Viejo in the last 24 hours.
- Last 24 hours
- 0
- Last 7 days
- 0
- Last 30 days
- 1 · an average 30 days here since 2016: 2.4
- Last 12 months
- 25 · largest M 3.1 on 7 December 2025
- Since 2016
- 310 earthquakes of M1.5 or more within 30 km
- Largest since 2016
- M 4.1 on 1 May 2024, 24 km (15 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA
- Reported felt
- 124 of them have felt reports to USGS
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Joaquin Hills thrust, under 1 km from its surface trace
USGS · feed checked · newest earthquake in our database · this page · counts are earthquakes of M1.5 or more within 30 km (19 mi) of the town centre; shaking is estimated for the town centre with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses
If you felt one
- Was that an earthquake? — checks what was recorded near you in the last hour
- Report what you felt to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us, and they are what produces the intensity maps
- Expect aftershocks, and be ready to Drop, Cover, and Hold On if you feel one; if you are in a damaged building, go outside and move away from it (Ready.gov, FEMA; what to do during and after an earthquake)
- Near the coast, go inland or to higher ground as soon as strong shaking stops (Ready.gov); official warnings are on Tsunami.gov
- Earthquakes in California — with the state's activity score
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings or forecasts. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert and the MyShake app.
The last 30 days
The latest 50
- 2.2 22 km (14 mi) WNW of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 26
- 1.8 22 km (13 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA
- 2.3 22 km (13 mi) NE of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 19
- 2.1 26 km (16 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 4
- 1.6 26 km (16 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA
- 2.2 26 km (16 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 11
- 3.0 26 km (16 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 402
- 1.6 26 km (16 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.8 25 km (15 mi) ENE of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.6 21 km (13 mi) NE of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.5 30 km (19 mi) NE of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.6 30 km (18 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.7 30 km (19 mi) E of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.5 26 km (16 mi) ENE of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 1
- 1.7 26 km (16 mi) ENE of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.5 26 km (16 mi) ENE of Mission Viejo, CA
- 2.0 20 km (12 mi) NE of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 2
- 1.6 27 km (17 mi) SW of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 1
- 1.8 16 km (10 mi) WNW of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 8
- 1.6 21 km (13 mi) NE of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 1
- 1.9 24 km (15 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.5 27 km (17 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.5 26 km (16 mi) WNW of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 3
- 3.1 24 km (15 mi) SSE of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 208
- 1.6 22 km (14 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.8 24 km (15 mi) NNE of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.5 23 km (15 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.9 23 km (14 mi) NNW of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.6 22 km (14 mi) NE of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.6 17 km (11 mi) S of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.5 18 km (11 mi) S of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 1
- 2.2 25 km (15 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 5
- 1.9 25 km (15 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.9 27 km (17 mi) ENE of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.8 7 km (4 mi) SW of Mission Viejo, CA
- 2.7 21 km (13 mi) NE of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 28
- 1.7 27 km (17 mi) ENE of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.8 24 km (15 mi) ENE of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 1
- 1.8 10 km (6 mi) WNW of Mission Viejo, CA
- 2.1 11 km (7 mi) WNW of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 4
- 1.8 10 km (7 mi) WNW of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.8 22 km (14 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 2
- 2.1 23 km (14 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA
- 2.8 23 km (14 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 44
- 2.0 24 km (15 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.9 23 km (15 mi) N of Mission Viejo, CA
- 1.6 28 km (17 mi) NE of Mission Viejo, CA
- 2.1 19 km (12 mi) NE of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 1
- 1.6 17 km (10 mi) WNW of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 1
- 1.5 26 km (16 mi) NNW of Mission Viejo, CA · felt by 2
From the QuakeIndex database, which reads the USGS feed every 30 seconds and holds the USGS catalogue for the US from 2016 (M1.5+). Times are Mission Viejo time. Distances are from the town centre. Quakes USGS named after Mission Viejo are listed even when they are further out.
Show these earthquakes on your own site: a free card with the latest quakes near Mission Viejo, for a local news site, school or neighborhood page.
On the map
The white circle is Mission Viejo; dots are the 50 most recent earthquakes within 30 km. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Estimated shaking in Mission Viejo
The strongest shaking in Mission Viejo from a quake since 2016 is estimated at intensity III (weak), from the M 4.1 on 1 May 2024, 24 km away. Intensity II and III are felt by some people at rest indoors; IV by most people indoors; V and above wakes sleepers and moves objects.
| Magnitude | When | Distance | Shaking in Mission Viejo (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| M 4.1 | 24 km | III · Weak · felt by 8,407 | |
| M 4.0 | 23 km | III · Weak · felt by 11,942 | |
| M 3.6 | 23 km | III · Weak · felt by 824 | |
| M 3.6 | 22 km | III · Weak · felt by 3,895 | |
| M 3.6 | 27 km | III · Weak · felt by 3,715 |
An estimate for the town centre from magnitude, depth and distance, with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses (Atkinson & Wald, 2007), on the Modified Mercalli scale. All 5 reach intensity II or more in town, where people at rest start to notice. Ground conditions change it street by street. It describes the past, not a hazard.
Before 2016
The USGS record since 1900 lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km of Mission Viejo; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 30 km W of Mission Viejo
- 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 28 km ENE of Mission Viejo
- 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 40 km NNW of Mission Viejo
- 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 31 km W of Mission Viejo
- 5.2 8km ENE of Trabuco Canyon, CA · 19 km NE of Mission Viejo
USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900 to 2015. This is the record, not a forecast.
Nearest mapped faults
- San Joaquin Hills thrust, under 1 km from its surface trace
- Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault, 14 km from its surface trace
- Elsinore fault, 25 km from its surface trace
USGS Quaternary Fault and Fold Database. Near is not the same as on.
Nearby towns
Laguna Hills 4 km · Ladera Ranch 5 km · Laguna Woods 5 km · Lake Forest 5 km · Aliso Viejo 6 km · Rancho Santa Margarita 8 km · Coto De Caza 8 km · Laguna Niguel 9 km
Be ready
Earthquakes cannot be predicted, here or anywhere, so the useful step is the one taken beforehand. The advice below is from the agencies responsible for it.
- Ready.gov: earthquakes (FEMA) — what to do before, during and after, including Drop, Cover, and Hold On
- Build a kit (FEMA) — water, food and supplies for several days; our summary
- USGS: preparedness — the hazard behind the advice, from the agency that records every quake on this page
- The Great ShakeOut — the yearly earthquake drill, with material for homes, schools and workplaces
- ShakeAlert covers Mission Viejo, CA: alerts reach phones through Wireless Emergency Alerts and the MyShake app, seconds before shaking arrives
- Tsunami.gov (NOAA) — the official tsunami warnings for the coast; a quake page here never stands in for one
- California Earthquake Authority — retrofit grants and the state's not-for-profit earthquake insurance
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings or forecasts. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert and the MyShake app.