QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7ml

Earthquake near Irvine, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Irvine in the 24 hours to 3:27 pm PST (23:27 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 36 km (22 mi) WNW, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Irvine

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 6 km (3 mi) southeast of Irvine, CA, at 7:19 pm PDT on 31 August 2019 (02:19 UTC), 14 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 5km ENE of San Joaquin Hills, CA

5 km (3 mi) SSW of Irvine, CA

7:19 pm PDT, Aug 31, 2019 · · 14 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Irvine Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 5 kmLos Angeles County 77 kmSan Diego County 116 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
7:19 pm PDT on 31 August 2019 ()
Where
6 km (3 mi) southeast of Irvine, CA · earthquakes near Irvine
Magnitude
M 1.7 (ml)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Orange County, 5 km N
Nearest mapped fault
San Joaquin Hills thrust, 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 2626 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 Irvine, 6 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: Turtle Rock, Laguna Woods, Laguna Hills, Lake Forest, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Beach.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 930,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 83× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 20 km W of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 36 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 35 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 20 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 8km ENE of Trabuco Canyon, CA · 26 km ENE 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 33.6313, -117.7852. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 5 km (3 mi) N earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 77 km (48 mi) NW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
San Diego County, CA 116 km (72 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

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

  1. 3.0 3km ENE of Brea, CA
  2. 1.5 4km NW of Signal Hill, CA
  3. 2.0 8km W of Seal Beach, CA
  4. 1.5 5km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
  5. 1.6 3 km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  6. 2.4 11km WNW of Lake Elsinore, CA
  7. 2.9 11km WNW of Lake Elsinore, CA
  8. 1.7 3km NNW of Mira Loma, CA
  9. 1.7 5km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  10. 2.6 11km WNW of Lake Elsinore, CA
  11. 2.5 1km S of Compton, CA
  12. 1.6 3km E of Lomita, CA
  13. 1.5 5km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
  14. 3.5 0km SSE of Compton, CA
  15. 1.6 8km ESE 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.