Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near Corona, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Corona in the 24 hours to 1:02 pm PST (21:02 UTC). The last one was M 1.6, 9 km (6 mi) SE, at 1:57 pm PST on 6 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Corona
This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 9 km (5 mi) west-southwest of Corona, CA, at 4:16 am PST on 15 January 2020 (12:16 UTC), 7.4 km deep. 160 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9km WSW of Corona, CA
9 km (5 mi) W of Corona, CA · 72 km (45 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 4:16 am PST on 15 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 9 km (5 mi) west-southwest of Corona, CA · earthquakes near Corona
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.4 km below the surface
- Felt
- 160 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Orange County, 22 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Elsinore fault, 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 759 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Corona, CA
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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 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 31 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In Corona, 9 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: Corona 9 km, intensity III · Norco 13 km, intensity III · Yorba Linda 15 km, intensity II · Eastvale 15 km, intensity II · North Tustin 16 km, intensity II · Chino 18 km, intensity II · Chino Hills 18 km, intensity II · Orange 19 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 650 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 23,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 650 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 170 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 40 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 45 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 29 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 45 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 33 km N 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 33.8508, -117.6575. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 22 km (14 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 68 km (42 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| San Diego County, CA | 123 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
57 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.5 5km NE of Bradbury, CA
- 1.5 9km NE of Trabuco Canyon, CA
- 2.0 4km SE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.7 3km ESE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.6 3km SE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.6 4km N of Norco, CA
- 1.6 8km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.6 1km SW of Devore, CA
- 1.6 2km SSW of San Bernardino, CA
- 2.3 5km SE of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.8 3km SE of Loma Linda, CA
- 1.6 2km NNE of Laguna Niguel, CA
- 1.7 4km E of Rancho Cucamonga, CA
- 1.7 2km WNW of Muscoy, CA
- 2.1 5km N of Murrieta, 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.