QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near El Centro, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in El Centro in the 24 hours to 2:35 am PST (10:35 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 54 km (33 mi) SE, at 10:27 am PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 321 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near El Centro

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 25 km (16 mi) west of El Centro, CA, at 2:47 am PDT on 28 September 2018 (09:47 UTC), 2.4 km deep.

USGS: 16km ENE of Ocotillo, CA

2:47 am PDT, Sep 28, 2018 · · 2.4 km deep · released about 8.7 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near El Centro Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Imperial County 53 kmSan Diego County 92 kmRiverside County 105 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
2:47 am PDT on 28 September 2018 ()
Where
25 km (16 mi) west of El Centro, CA · earthquakes near El Centro
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
2.4 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Imperial County, 53 km ENE
Nearest mapped fault
Yuha Well Fault Zone, 6 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

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In El Centro, 25 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Seeley, Imperial, Heber.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.7 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.0 on 2016-07-31 — about 3,800 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 40 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.9 The 1940 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 43 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 21 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 50 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 25 km N of this epicentre
  5. 6.4 The 1979 Imperial Valley Earthquake, California-Baja California · 47 km ESE 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 32.7932, -115.8343. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Imperial County, CA 53 km (33 mi) ENE earthquakes near Imperial County
San Diego County, CA 92 km (57 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Diego County
Riverside County, CA 105 km (65 mi) N earthquakes near Riverside County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.5 3km SSW of Brawley, CA
  2. 1.6 4km SSW of Brawley, CA
  3. 1.6 3km SSW of Brawley, CA
  4. 1.7 18km S of Bombay Beach, CA
  5. 1.8 11km SW of Niland, CA
  6. 1.6 11km WNW of Calipatria, CA
  7. 1.5 11km SW of Niland, CA
  8. 1.6 11km WNW of Calipatria, CA
  9. 1.6 11km SW of Niland, CA
  10. 2.1 9km WSW of Niland, CA
  11. 1.5 9km WSW of Niland, CA
  12. 2.1 9km WSW of Niland, CA
  13. 2.9 10km WSW of Niland, CA
  14. 2.4 9km SW of Niland, CA
  15. 2.5 10km SW of Niland, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.