Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.4mw
Earthquake near Banning, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Banning in the 24 hours to 3:08 pm PST (23:08 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 15 km (10 mi) SSW, at 8:30 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 87 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Banning
This page: a magnitude 4.4 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Banning, CA, at 6:42 am PST on 6 January 2016 (14:42 UTC), 17 km deep. 6,921 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 4km NNW of Banning, CA
11 km (7 mi) NNE of Beaumont, CA · 141 km (87 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 6:42 am PST on 6 January 2016 ()
- Where
- 4 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Banning, CA · earthquakes near Banning
- Magnitude
- M 4.4 (mw)
- Depth
- 17 km below the surface
- Felt
- 6,921 reports · strongest reported intensity VI
- Measured shaking
- intensity VI (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Tsunami
- USGS flagged this event for tsunami evaluation. Follow tsunami.gov for official messages.
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 86 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Banning fault, under 1 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 1256 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Banning, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Banning, CA. No account or email needed.
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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 128 km (80 mi) from the epicentre. In Banning, 4 km away, the estimate is intensity IV (light). 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: Banning 4 km, intensity IV · Beaumont 9 km, intensity IV · Yucaipa 17 km, intensity III · San Jacinto 20 km, intensity III · Valle Vista 23 km, intensity III · Hemet 25 km, intensity III · Mentone 26 km, intensity III · Idyllwild 29 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 58 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 2,900× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 92× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.4 about 58 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 120× more
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 (31 mi) since our catalogue begins in 2016. No other earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded this close in that time.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 28 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 49 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 23 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 28 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 37 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 26 km E 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 33.9585, -116.8883. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 86 km (53 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Orange County, CA | 88 km (55 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| San Diego County, CA | 104 km (65 mi) | S | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 119 km (74 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near San Bernardino 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.
- 2.3 2km E of Nuevo, CA
- 1.5 5km NNW of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.8 5km NNW of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.8 5km NNW of Big Bear City, CA
- 2.6 5km NNW of Big Bear City, CA
- 2.1 5km NNW of Big Bear City, CA
- 2.1 5km NNW of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.6 5km NNW of Big Bear City, CA
- 2.2 5km NNW of Big Bear City, CA
- 3.9 5km NNW of Big Bear City, CA
- 2.4 5km NNW of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.8 10km SW of Idyllwild, CA
- 3.4 10km NNE of Nuevo, CA
- 2.2 5km SE of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.9 5km SE of Loma Linda, 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.