Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.3ml
Earthquake near Malibu, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Malibu in the 24 hours to 10:40 pm PST (06:40 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 3.3 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) west-southwest of Malibu, CA, at 2:58 am PST on 27 December 2016 (10:58 UTC), 15 km deep. 342 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 10km WSW of Malibu, CA
46 km (29 mi) W of Los Angeles, CA · 25 km (16 mi) S of Thousand Oaks, CA
- When
- 2:58 am PST on 27 December 2016 ()
- Where
- 13 km (8 mi) west-southwest of Malibu, CA · earthquakes near Malibu
- Magnitude
- M 3.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- 342 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Ventura County, 48 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Dume fault, 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 344 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 49 km (30 mi) from the epicentre. In Malibu, 13 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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 23 km, intensity II · Agoura 25 km, intensity II · Camarillo 30 km, intensity II · Moorpark 35 km, intensity II · Simi Valley 35 km, intensity II · Oxnard 35 km, intensity II · Santa Monica 39 km, intensity II · Santa Paula 45 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 130,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,800× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,100× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.3 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.7× 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
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 NE of this epicentre
- 5.6 7km NNE of Simi Valley, California · 44 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.5 11km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 50 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 38 km E of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1973 Point Mugu, California Earthquake · 13 km W 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 33.9705, -118.9087. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 65 km (40 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 110 km (68 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 121 km (75 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.
- 2.0 1km SSW of Sherman Oaks, CA
- 1.7 0km SE of Century City, CA
- 1.6 6km ESE of Agoura Hills, CA
- 1.7 4km SSE of Encino, CA
- 1.6 1km SE of Malibu Beach, CA
- 2.3 5km W of El Segundo, CA
- 1.8 2km S of Sherman Oaks, CA
- 1.6 6km S of Piru, CA
- 1.5 4km SW of Encino, CA
- 3.0 22km SE of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
- 3.3 17km W of Malibu, CA
- 1.6 5 km SSW of Malibu, California
- 2.0 5 km ESE of Piru, California
- 1.6 4 km NNW of Malibu, California
- 1.9 3 km NNW of Malibu, California
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.