QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2ml

Earthquake near North Tustin, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in North Tustin in the 24 hours to 2:54 am PST (10:54 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 36 km (22 mi) W, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near North Tustin

This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) east-northeast of North Tustin, CA, at 2:38 am PST on 1 January 2020 (10:38 UTC), 9.8 km deep. 741 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 11km ENE of North Tustin, CA

8 km (5 mi) SE of Anaheim, CA · 70 km (44 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA

2:38 am PST, Jan 1, 2020 · · 9.8 km deep · released about 1,700 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 17 kmLos Angeles County 68 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
2:38 am PST on 1 January 2020 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) east-northeast of North Tustin, CA · earthquakes near North Tustin
Magnitude
M 3.2 (ml)
Depth
9.8 km below the surface
Felt
741 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity IV (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Orange County, 17 km SSW
Nearest mapped fault
Elsinore fault, 8 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 759 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 43 km (27 mi) from the epicentre. In North Tustin, 11 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: North Tustin 11 km, intensity III · Corona 13 km, intensity III · Yorba Linda 14 km, intensity III · Tustin 15 km, intensity III · Orange 15 km, intensity III · Placentia 18 km, intensity III · Santa Ana 18 km, intensity III · Lake Forest 18 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,700 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 9,100× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 6,500× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,700 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.7× more

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 68 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 35 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 30 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 45 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 37 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 17 km NNW 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 33.8113, -117.6897. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 17 km (11 mi) SSW earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 68 km (42 mi) NW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
San Diego County, CA 122 km (76 mi) SE earthquakes near San Diego County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 5km SE of Loma Linda, CA
  2. 1.8 3km SE of Loma Linda, CA
  3. 1.6 2km NNE of Laguna Niguel, CA
  4. 1.7 4km E of Rancho Cucamonga, CA
  5. 1.7 2km WNW of Muscoy, CA
  6. 1.9 1km SE of Loma Linda, CA
  7. 1.9 3km NNW of Walnut, CA
  8. 1.7 5km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
  9. 2.0 2km SSW of San Bernardino, CA
  10. 1.6 2km ESE of Loma Linda, CA
  11. 1.6 7km NW of Glen Avon, CA
  12. 1.8 6km E of Ontario, CA
  13. 1.7 2km ENE of Villa Park, CA
  14. 2.0 4km SSE of Yorba Linda, CA
  15. 2.2 8 km E 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.