Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near Malibu, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Malibu in the 24 hours to 2:40 am PST (10:40 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 8 km (5 mi) W, at 4:53 am PDT on 16 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Malibu
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) west of Malibu, CA, at 9:17 am PDT on 19 September 2018 (16:17 UTC), 16 km deep. 53 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 13km W of Malibu, CA
50 km (31 mi) W of Los Angeles, CA · 21 km (13 mi) SSW of Thousand Oaks, CA
- When
- 9:17 am PDT on 19 September 2018 ()
- Where
- 16 km (10 mi) west of Malibu, CA · earthquakes near Malibu
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 16 km below the surface
- Felt
- 53 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Ventura County, 42 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Malibu Coast fault, 4 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2942 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Malibu, CA
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 29 km (18 mi) from the epicentre. In Malibu, 16 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
Likely felt in: Thousand Oaks 21 km, intensity II · Camarillo 24 km, intensity II · Agoura 25 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 720 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 21,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 15,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.3× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 720 lb of TNT
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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 44 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.6 7km NNE of Simi Valley, California · 42 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 42 km E of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1973 Point Mugu, California Earthquake · 10 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.2 9 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 34 km WNW of this epicentre
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 34.0115, -118.9523. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County, CA | 42 km (26 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 67 km (42 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 115 km (71 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 116 km (72 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
42 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 6km WSW of Hermosa Beach, CA
- 1.6 18km S of Camarillo, CA
- 1.6 2km ESE of Santa Monica, CA
- 2.0 3km NE of Marina del Rey, CA
- 2.0 3km NE of Marina del Rey, CA
- 1.6 2km ESE of Northridge, CA
- 1.9 8km S of Malibu Beach, CA
- 2.7 6km SSW of Malibu Beach, CA
- 1.8 7km NE of Ventura, CA
- 2.0 2km WNW of Marina del Rey, CA
- 1.9 2km W of Chatsworth, CA
- 2.4 18km S of Port Hueneme, CA
- 2.6 6km SSW of Sherman Oaks, CA
- 2.8 3km ESE of Northridge, CA
- 2.1 4km S of Marina del Rey, CA
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.