QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6ml

Earthquake near Newport Beach, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Newport Beach in the 24 hours to 8:39 am PST (16:39 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) south-southwest of Newport Beach, CA, at 2:54 am PST on 10 January 2019 (10:54 UTC), 17 km deep.

USGS: 30km ESE of Avalon, CA

97 km (60 mi) SSE of Los Angeles, CA · 47 km (29 mi) SSW of Newport Beach, CA

2:54 am PST, Jan 10, 2019 · · 17 km deep · released about 7.3 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Newport Beach Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 59 kmLos Angeles County 113 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
2:54 am PST on 10 January 2019 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) south-southwest of Newport Beach, CA · earthquakes near Newport Beach
Magnitude
M 1.6 (ml)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orange County, 59 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
San Diego Trough fault, 2 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 2863 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Newport Beach, 48 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 48 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 11km NNE of San Clemente Is. (SE tip), CA · 39 km SW of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 The 1986 Oceanside, California Earthquake · 30 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 48 km N 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 33.1987, -118.0550. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 59 km (37 mi) NNE earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 113 km (70 mi) N earthquakes near Los Angeles County
San Diego County, CA 121 km (75 mi) E earthquakes near San Diego 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.

  1. 2.3 14km N of Avalon, CA
  2. 2.2 1km NNW of Newport Beach, CA
  3. 1.8 48km SSW of San Clemente, CA
  4. 1.7 17km SW of Dana Point, CA
  5. 2.7 16km W of Camp Pendleton South, CA
  6. 2.7 45km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
  7. 2.0 26km SW of Laguna Beach, CA
  8. 2.6 44km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
  9. 3.2 21km S of San Pedro, CA
  10. 2.1 49km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
  11. 2.1 41km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
  12. 2.0 49km WSW of Encinitas, CA
  13. 1.8 49km WSW of Carlsbad, CA
  14. 1.7 22km SSW of Seal Beach, CA
  15. 3.5 23km SSW of Seal Beach, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.