Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.8ml
Earthquake near Beaumont, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Beaumont in the 24 hours to 4:40 am PST (12:40 UTC). The last one was M 2.8, 14 km (8 mi) S, at 8:30 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 87 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Beaumont
This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 6 km (3 mi) west-southwest of Beaumont, CA, at 7:45 am PST on 31 December 2018 (15:45 UTC), 15 km deep. 36 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 6km WSW of Beaumont, CA
9 km (5 mi) WNW of Beaumont, CA · 127 km (79 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 7:45 am PST on 31 December 2018 ()
- Where
- 6 km (3 mi) west-southwest of Beaumont, CA · earthquakes near Beaumont
- Magnitude
- M 2.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- 36 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Orange County, 74 km WSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Beaumont Plain 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 2870 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Beaumont, 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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Beaumont, 6 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: Beaumont 6 km, intensity II · Yucaipa 13 km, intensity II · Banning 15 km, intensity II · San Jacinto 16 km, intensity II · Moreno Valley 18 km, intensity II · Mentone 19 km, intensity II · Hemet 20 km, intensity II · Redlands 21 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 460 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 33,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 23,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.1× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.8 about 460 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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.5 on 2018-05-08 — about 350 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 21 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 18 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1992 Big Bear, California Earthquake · 37 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 28 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 41 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 40 km ENE 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 33.9173, -117.0350. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 74 km (46 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Riverside County, CA | 98 km (61 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| San Diego County, CA | 102 km (64 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 117 km (73 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| San Bernardino County, CA | 131 km (81 mi) | NE | earthquakes near San Bernardino County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
25 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 8km NNW of Anza, CA
- 1.9 4km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
- 1.6 8km SSE of Big Bear City, CA
- 1.9 14km NNE of Cabazon, CA
- 2.4 3km SW of San Bernardino, CA
- 1.8 11km SW of Morongo Valley, CA
- 1.8 12km NNE of Running Springs, CA
- 1.6 2km E of Cabazon, CA
- 2.1 6km NE of Beaumont, CA
- 2.6 11km ENE of Cabazon, CA
- 2.0 6km E of Calimesa, CA
- 1.8 7km SW of Morongo Valley, CA
- 1.5 5km SE of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.6 5km SE of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.6 7km E of Calimesa, 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.