Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6ml
Earthquake near Malibu, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Malibu in the 24 hours to 3:23 am PST (11:23 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 2.6 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) west of Malibu, CA, at 1:07 am PST on 15 December 2018 (09:07 UTC), 15 km deep. 8 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 18km W of Malibu, CA
55 km (34 mi) W of Los Angeles, CA · 22 km (14 mi) S of Camarillo, CA
- When
- 1:07 am PST on 15 December 2018 ()
- Where
- 21 km (13 mi) west of Malibu, CA · earthquakes near Malibu
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- 8 reports · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Ventura County, 39 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Malibu Coast fault, 3 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 2887 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 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Malibu, 21 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: Camarillo, Port Hueneme, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Agoura Hills, Oxnard.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 260 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 59,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 42,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.7× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 260 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 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 48 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.6 7km NNE of Simi Valley, California · 44 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.5 30 km SW of Channel Islands Beach, California · 46 km W of this epicentre
- 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 47 km E of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1973 Point Mugu, California Earthquake · 6 km SW 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 34.0222, -119.0050. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County, CA | 39 km (24 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 71 km (44 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 111 km (69 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
| Orange County, CA | 120 km (74 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Orange County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
37 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.8 12km S of Malibu, CA
- 1.8 6km SW of Calabasas, CA
- 2.3 20km SE of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
- 1.8 5km SE of Agoura Hills, CA
- 2.0 13km W of Port Hueneme, CA
- 2.4 16km WNW of Malibu, CA
- 2.2 9km NW of Malibu, CA
- 2.1 8km NW of Malibu, CA
- 2.0 9km NW of Malibu, CA
- 1.6 7km N of Moorpark, CA
- 2.1 14km SSE of Malibu Beach, CA
- 3.7 16km S of Camarillo, CA
- 1.7 9km SE of Santa Paula, CA
- 1.6 9km S of Malibu Beach, CA
- 1.6 9km S of Malibu 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
- 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.