Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.2ml
Earthquake near Long Beach, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Long Beach in the 24 hours to 3:59 am PST (11:59 UTC). The last one was M 1.7, 10 km (6 mi) SSW, at 3:16 am PDT on 16 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Long Beach
This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 27 km (17 mi) south-southwest of Long Beach, CA, at 4:20 pm PST on 6 December 2019 (00:20 UTC), 11 km deep. 132 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 21km S of San Pedro, CA
53 km (33 mi) S of Los Angeles, CA · 29 km (18 mi) SSW of Long Beach, CA
- When
- 4:20 pm PST on 6 December 2019 ()
- Where
- 27 km (17 mi) south-southwest of Long Beach, CA · earthquakes near Long Beach
- Magnitude
- M 3.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- 132 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity II (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Orange County, 52 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Pedro Basin fault, 6 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 2448 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Long Beach, 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 46 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In Long Beach, 27 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.
Likely felt in: Rancho Palos Verdes 23 km, intensity II · Avalon 23 km, intensity II · Long Beach 27 km, intensity II · Seal Beach 29 km, intensity II · Palos Verdes Estates 29 km, intensity II · Signal Hill 32 km, intensity II · Carson 32 km, intensity II · Huntington Beach 32 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 tons 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.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 170,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,400× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,200× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.2 about 1 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.1× 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
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 31 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 30 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.1 The 1941 Torrance-Gardena, California Earthquakes (Second Event) · 27 km N of this epicentre
- 5.0 2km ENE of Westminster, CA · 39 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.0 2 km NE of Carson, California · 34 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 33.5485, -118.3142. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 52 km (32 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 72 km (45 mi) | N | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 118 km (73 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
41 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 14km SSW of Huntington Beach, CA
- 1.8 6km WSW of Huntington Beach, CA
- 2.3 14km N of Avalon, CA
- 2.2 1km NNW of Newport Beach, CA
- 2.1 2km E of Lennox, CA
- 1.9 2km ESE of Lennox, CA
- 1.6 1km NNE of Lennox, CA
- 1.6 1km NNE of Lennox, CA
- 1.9 4km SSW of Huntington Beach, CA
- 1.9 3 km E of Lennox, CA
- 2.2 3km SE of San Pedro, CA
- 1.9 2km NNE of Gardena, CA
- 1.9 13km WSW of Hermosa Beach, CA
- 2.1 12km SSE of San Pedro, CA
- 1.5 0km ESE of Redondo Beach, 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.