Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near Norwalk, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Norwalk in the 24 hours to 7:51 am PST (15:51 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 16 km (10 mi) SW, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Norwalk
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded in Norwalk, CA, at 2:34 am PDT on 15 May 2019 (09:34 UTC), 11 km deep.
USGS: 1km SW of Norwalk, CA
in Norwalk, CA · 32 km (20 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 2:34 am PDT on 15 May 2019 ()
- Where
- in Norwalk, CA · earthquakes near Norwalk
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 36 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Puente Hills blind thrust system, 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 2738 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Norwalk, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Norwalk, 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Norwalk in town, intensity II · Bellflower 3 km, intensity II · Cerritos 5 km, intensity II · Downey 6 km, intensity II · Paramount 7 km, intensity II · Lakewood 7 km, intensity II · South Whittier 7 km, intensity II · La Mirada 7 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 4.4 on 2018-08-29 — about 7,400 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 31 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 18 km N of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 42 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 45 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 30 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 33.9008, -118.0903. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 36 km (23 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 38 km (24 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Ventura County, CA | 109 km (68 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
46 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 22km SSW of Seal Beach, CA
- 1.7 11km W of Palos Verdes Estates, CA
- 3.5 23km SSW of Seal Beach, CA
- 1.6 6km SE of Ontario, CA
- 1.6 10km NE of North Tustin, CA
- 1.7 4km WNW of Huntington Beach, CA
- 1.9 21km S of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 1.5 5km SSW of Baldwin Hills, CA
- 2.0 7km E of Topanga, CA
- 1.8 21km SSW of San Pedro, CA
- 2.0 0km WNW of Manhattan Beach, CA
- 1.8 0km W of Manhattan Beach, CA
- 1.7 21km SSW of Seal Beach, CA
- 1.9 6km WNW of Mira Loma, CA
- 1.7 5km ENE of San Joaquin Hills, 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.