QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0ml

Earthquake near Montebello, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Montebello in the 24 hours to 5:35 am PST (13:35 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 26 km (16 mi) SSW, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Montebello

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) southwest of Montebello, CA, at 1:16 pm PDT on 14 August 2019 (20:16 UTC), 17 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2km SW of Montebello, CA

26 km (16 mi) E of Los Angeles, CA · in Montebello, CA

1:16 pm PDT, Aug 14, 2019 · · 17 km deep · released about 32 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Montebello Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 25 kmOrange County 48 kmVentura County 101 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
1:16 pm PDT on 14 August 2019 ()
Where
2 km (1 mi) southwest of Montebello, CA · earthquakes near Montebello
Magnitude
M 2.0 (ml)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 25 km NNW
Nearest mapped fault
Puente Hills blind thrust system, 3 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 2647 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 Montebello, 2 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Pico Rivera, Commerce, Bell Gardens, East Los Angeles, West Whittier-Los Nietos, Maywood.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 32 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 470,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 330,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 30× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 32 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 3,500 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 45 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 42 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 8 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 46 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 33 km NNE 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 33.9975, -118.1250. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 25 km (16 mi) NNW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Orange County, CA 48 km (30 mi) SE earthquakes near Orange County
Ventura County, CA 101 km (63 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ventura County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.2 2km ENE of Brea, CA
  2. 1.8 15km S of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
  3. 2.1 15km S of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
  4. 2.4 3km E of Upland, CA
  5. 1.6 0km WSW of Century City, CA
  6. 1.9 6km WSW of Norco, CA
  7. 2.6 3km ENE of Brea, CA
  8. 1.5 6km ESE of San Pedro, CA
  9. 3.0 3km ENE of Brea, CA
  10. 1.5 4km NW of Signal Hill, CA
  11. 1.6 5km SSE of Las Flores, CA
  12. 2.0 8km W of Seal Beach, CA
  13. 1.6 4km ESE of Lennox, CA
  14. 1.6 3km N of Pacoima, CA
  15. 2.5 1km S of Compton, 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.