Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.5mw
Earthquake near Cabazon, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Cabazon in the 24 hours to 4:38 am PST (12:38 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 20 km (13 mi) SW, at 8:30 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 87 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Cabazon
This page: a magnitude 4.5 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) north of Cabazon, CA, at 4:49 am PDT on 8 May 2018 (11:49 UTC), 13 km deep. 12,344 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 11km N of Cabazon, CA
22 km (14 mi) NE of Beaumont, CA · 138 km (85 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA
- When
- 4:49 am PDT on 8 May 2018 ()
- Where
- 11 km (7 mi) north of Cabazon, CA · earthquakes near Cabazon
- Magnitude
- M 4.5 (mw)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 12,344 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Riverside County, 79 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Andreas fault, 4 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 2168 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Cabazon, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Cabazon, 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 138 km (86 mi) from the epicentre. In Cabazon, 11 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 13 km, intensity IV · Morongo Valley 19 km, intensity IV · Beaumont 21 km, intensity III · Yucaipa 24 km, intensity III · Desert Hot Springs 26 km, intensity III · Big Bear City 28 km, intensity III · Big Bear Lake 28 km, intensity III · Palm Springs 30 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 82 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 2,100× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 92× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 65× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.5 about 82 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 170× 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. The previous largest was M 4.4 on 2016-01-06.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 38 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.3 The 1992 Landers, California Earthquake · 38 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 33 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 21 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 45 km W of this epicentre
- 6.1 The 1992 Joshua Tree, California Earthquake · 43 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 34.0160, -116.7798. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverside County, CA | 79 km (49 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Orange County, CA | 100 km (62 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 108 km (67 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
| San Diego County, CA | 110 km (69 mi) | S | earthquakes near San Diego County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
59 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 6km SW of Cabazon, CA
- 2.5 7km NNE of Green Acres, CA
- 2.1 12km NW of Big Bear Lake, CA
- 2.2 5km SE of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.9 6km N of Moreno Valley, CA
- 1.5 13km NNE of Thousand Palms, CA
- 3.8 13km NNE of Thousand Palms, CA
- 1.9 13km NNE of Cabazon, CA
- 3.0 12km NNE of Cabazon, CA
- 1.6 8km NNE of Cabazon, CA
- 1.9 6km E of Calimesa, CA
- 2.9 13km N of Cabazon, CA
- 2.9 4km NE of Anza, CA
- 2.5 5km S of Banning, CA
- 1.9 5km NE of Anza, 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.