Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.4ml
Earthquake near Newport Beach, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Newport Beach in the 24 hours to 9:56 am PST (17:56 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 30 km (19 mi) NW, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Newport Beach
This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) west of Newport Beach, CA, at 10:47 am PDT on 10 October 2018 (17:47 UTC), 13 km deep. 10 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 7km W of Newport Beach, CA
10 km (6 mi) S of Huntington Beach, CA · 59 km (37 mi) SE of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 10:47 am PDT on 10 October 2018 ()
- Where
- 7 km (4 mi) west of Newport Beach, CA · earthquakes near Newport Beach
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (ml)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 10 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Orange County, 22 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault, 5 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 2942 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Newport Beach, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Newport Beach, 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 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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Newport Beach, 7 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.
Likely felt in: Huntington Beach 6 km, intensity II · Newport Beach 7 km, intensity II · Costa Mesa 9 km, intensity II · Fountain Valley 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 3 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 44 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 2 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.2 8km ENE of Trabuco Canyon, CA · 47 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.1 The 1941 Torrance-Gardena, California Earthquakes (Second Event) · 31 km NW 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 33.6073, -118.0053. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 22 km (14 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 70 km (43 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| San Diego County, CA | 131 km (82 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Ventura County, CA | 133 km (83 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
34 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.1 2km SSW of Norwalk, CA
- 1.8 21km SW of Dana Point, CA
- 1.9 0km SW of Lennox, CA
- 1.7 4km E of Brea, CA
- 1.7 20km SSE of San Pedro, CA
- 2.4 20km S of San Pedro, CA
- 1.9 20km SSE of San Pedro, CA
- 1.5 7km ESE of San Pedro, CA
- 3.1 3km NNE of Yorba Linda, CA
- 1.6 30km ESE of Avalon, CA
- 1.6 11km WSW of Newport Beach, CA
- 1.6 4km NNW of Signal Hill, CA
- 1.6 2km NNW of Willowbrook, CA
- 1.5 2km NE of Whittier, CA
- 1.9 1km N of Lawndale, 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.