Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Malibu, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Malibu in the 24 hours to 4:00 am PST (12:00 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 2.8 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) west-northwest of Malibu, CA, at 12:35 am PST on 17 January 2019 (08:35 UTC), 2.8 km deep. 186 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 7km NW of Malibu, CA
41 km (26 mi) W of Los Angeles, CA · 16 km (10 mi) S of Thousand Oaks, CA
- When
- 12:35 am PST on 17 January 2019 ()
- Where
- 8 km (5 mi) west-northwest of Malibu, CA · earthquakes near Malibu
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 2.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 186 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Ventura County, 43 km NW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Malibu Coast 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 2813 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 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Malibu, 8 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 13 km, intensity III · Agoura 15 km, intensity II · Camarillo 25 km, intensity II · Simi Valley 25 km, intensity II · Moorpark 26 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 420 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 36,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 26,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.3× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 420 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 16 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 34 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 42 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.6 7km NNE of Simi Valley, California · 34 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 33 km E of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1973 Point Mugu, California Earthquake · 20 km WSW 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 34.0518, -118.8567. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County, CA | 43 km (26 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 57 km (35 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 108 km (67 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
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 7km N of Moorpark, CA
- 2.1 14km SSE of Malibu Beach, CA
- 3.7 16km S of Camarillo, CA
- 2.0 0km ESE of San Fernando, CA
- 1.7 6km NNW of Pacoima, CA
- 1.8 6km NNW of Pacoima, CA
- 2.5 5km NNW of Pacoima, 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
- 1.9 2km SSE of View Park-Windsor Hills, CA
- 1.9 7km SSW of Agoura Hills, CA
- 1.9 17km W of Manhattan Beach, CA
- 3.0 31km SE of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
- 1.7 4km WSW of Marina del Rey, 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.