Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.8mw
Earthquake near Aguanga, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Aguanga in the 24 hours to 11:44 am PST (19:44 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 20 km (12 mi) ESE, at 10:44 pm PST on 5 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 7 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Aguanga
This page: a magnitude 3.8 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) northeast of Aguanga, CA, at 6:58 am PST on 9 November 2018 (14:58 UTC), 1.4 km deep. 288 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 7km NE of Aguanga, CA
81 km (50 mi) NNE of San Diego, CA · 30 km (19 mi) E of Temecula, CA
- When
- 6:58 am PST on 9 November 2018 ()
- Where
- 7 km (5 mi) northeast of Aguanga, CA · earthquakes near Aguanga
- Magnitude
- M 3.8 (mw)
- Depth
- 1.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 288 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- San Diego County, 51 km S
- Nearest mapped fault
- Elsinore fault, 14 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 2852 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Aguanga, 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 81 km (50 mi) from the epicentre. In Aguanga, 7 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: Aguanga 7 km, intensity IV · Anza 14 km, intensity III · Idyllwild 29 km, intensity III · Valle Vista 30 km, intensity III · Temecula 32 km, intensity III · Hemet 33 km, intensity III · San Jacinto 36 km, intensity III · Murrieta 39 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 7.1 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 24,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 760× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.8 about 7.1 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 15× 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 since 2016 was M 5.2 on 2016-06-10 — about 130 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 34 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 1km ENE of Borrego Springs, CA · 48 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.4 20km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA · 32 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.3 6km SSE of Hemet, CA · 27 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.3 18km ESE of Anza, CA · 28 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 33.4853, -116.8048. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 51 km (32 mi) | S | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Riverside County, CA | 79 km (49 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Orange County, CA | 93 km (57 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Orange 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.
- 1.6 9km NE of Aguanga, CA
- 1.9 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
- 1.9 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
- 1.6 9km NE of Aguanga, CA
- 1.6 9km NE of Aguanga, CA
- 1.7 9km S of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.9 11km NNW of Anza, CA
- 2.0 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
- 1.6 9km NE of Aguanga, CA
- 2.2 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
- 1.8 10km SW of Anza, CA
- 1.7 9km NE of Aguanga, CA
- 1.5 4km WSW of Borrego Springs, CA
- 2.4 8km NE of Aguanga, CA
- 2.4 8km NE of Aguanga, 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.