QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near South Whittier, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in South Whittier in the 24 hours to 1:33 am PST (09:33 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 23 km (14 mi) SW, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near South Whittier

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded in South Whittier, CA, at 12:27 am PST on 24 January 2018 (08:27 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 3km S of South Whittier, CA

in Whittier, CA · 35 km (22 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA

12:27 am PST, Jan 24, 2018 · · 10 km deep · released about 8.7 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near South Whittier Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 35 kmOrange County 38 kmVentura County 111 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
12:27 am PST on 24 January 2018 ()
Where
in South Whittier, CA · earthquakes near South Whittier
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 35 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
Puente Hills blind thrust system, 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 3214 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. 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: South Whittier in town, intensity II · La Mirada 4 km, intensity II · Whittier 5 km, intensity II · Norwalk 5 km, intensity II · West Whittier-Los Nietos 5 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

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

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 34 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 14 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 38 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 40 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 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 33.9350, -118.0437. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 35 km (22 mi) NW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Orange County, CA 38 km (24 mi) SE earthquakes near Orange County
Ventura County, CA 111 km (69 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ventura County
San Diego County, CA 155 km (96 mi) SE earthquakes near San Diego County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 3km NNE of Norco, CA
  2. 1.9 4km WSW of Compton, CA
  3. 2.0 4km NNE of Brea, CA
  4. 1.8 2km NE of Silver Lake, CA
  5. 1.7 4km SW of Paramount, CA
  6. 2.5 3km N of Carson, CA
  7. 1.5 2km WSW of East Los Angeles, CA
  8. 1.8 6km NW of Signal Hill, CA
  9. 1.9 20km S of San Pedro, CA
  10. 1.7 3km WSW of Culver City, CA
  11. 1.6 3km NW of Inglewood, CA
  12. 1.6 2km WNW of Inglewood, CA
  13. 1.8 1km E of South Whittier, CA
  14. 1.5 3km WSW of Manhattan Beach, CA
  15. 2.2 12km S of Seal Beach, 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.