QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6ml

Earthquake near Gardena, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Gardena in the 24 hours to 3:49 am PST (11:49 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 2 km (1 mi) ENE, at 2:31 pm PDT on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Gardena

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded in Gardena, CA, at 10:40 pm PDT on 29 May 2019 (05:40 UTC), 14 km deep. 1,206 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2km NNE of Gardena, CA

16 km (10 mi) SE of Los Angeles, CA · in Gardena, CA

10:40 pm PDT, May 29, 2019 · · 14 km deep · released about 250 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 33 kmOrange County 55 kmVentura County 92 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
10:40 pm PDT on 29 May 2019 ()
Where
in Gardena, CA · earthquakes near Gardena
Magnitude
M 2.6 (ml)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
1,206 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 33 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon 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 464 days ago

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 20 km (12 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: Gardena in town, intensity II · Westmont 4 km, intensity II · Willowbrook 5 km, intensity II · Hawthorne 5 km, intensity II · Lawndale 5 km, intensity II · Compton 8 km, intensity II · Inglewood 8 km, intensity II · Carson 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 250 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 61,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 43,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 250 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 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 41 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 41 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 27 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 45 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 50 km NE 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 33.9028, -118.3027. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 33 km (20 mi) N earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Orange County, CA 55 km (34 mi) ESE earthquakes near Orange County
Ventura County, CA 92 km (57 mi) NW earthquakes near Ventura County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.6 4km ESE of Lennox, CA
  2. 1.6 3km N of Pacoima, CA
  3. 2.5 1km S of Compton, CA
  4. 1.5 1km WNW of Compton, CA
  5. 1.6 3km E of Lomita, CA
  6. 2.0 4km WSW of El Segundo, CA
  7. 1.5 1km WNW of Compton, CA
  8. 3.5 0km SSE of Compton, CA
  9. 2.0 7km E of Topanga, CA
  10. 2.2 4km ESE of Long Beach, CA
  11. 1.9 5km NE of Pacoima, CA
  12. 1.6 4km WNW of El Segundo, CA
  13. 1.7 4km N of Yorba Linda, CA
  14. 1.9 4km SW of San Pedro, CA
  15. 2.4 4km N of Yorba Linda, 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.