QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Hemet, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Hemet in the 24 hours to 9:50 pm PST (05:50 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 7 km (4 mi) N, at 8:52 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Hemet

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) east-southeast of Hemet, CA, at 8:14 am PDT on 12 May 2017 (15:14 UTC), 13 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 7 km SSW of Mountain Center, CA

99 km (62 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA · 25 km (16 mi) ESE of Hemet, CA

8:14 am PDT, May 12, 2017 · · 13 km deep · released about 29 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Riverside County 69 kmSan Diego County 69 kmOrange County 96 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
8:14 am PDT on 12 May 2017 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) east-southeast of Hemet, CA · earthquakes near Hemet
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Riverside County, 69 km E
Nearest mapped fault
San Jacinto fault, 2 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 3467 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Hemet, 24 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: Idyllwild, Idyllwild-Pine Cove, Anza, Valle Vista, East Hemet, San Jacinto.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 29 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 520,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 370,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 33× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 29 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 5.2 on 2016-06-10 — about 63,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 25 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 41 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 20km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA · 36 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 4km NNE of Desert Hot Springs, CA · 46 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 6km SSE of Hemet, CA · 19 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 33.6468, -116.7437. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Riverside County, CA 69 km (43 mi) E earthquakes near Riverside County
San Diego County, CA 69 km (43 mi) S earthquakes near San Diego County
Orange County, CA 96 km (59 mi) W earthquakes near Orange County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 10km NNW of Anza, CA
  2. 2.7 10km NNW of Anza, CA
  3. 1.9 10km NNW of Anza, CA
  4. 2.3 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
  5. 1.6 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
  6. 2.0 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
  7. 1.7 10km NNW of Anza, CA
  8. 1.5 10km NNW of Anza, CA
  9. 2.0 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
  10. 1.9 4km SSW of Cabazon, CA
  11. 3.4 4km SSW of Cabazon, CA
  12. 3.2 5km SSW of Cabazon, CA
  13. 2.1 5km SW of Idyllwild, CA
  14. 1.5 7km NW of Banning, CA
  15. 1.9 7km NE of Beaumont, 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.