Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3ml
Earthquake near Seal Beach, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Seal Beach in the 24 hours to 7:49 am PST (15:49 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 9 km (6 mi) NW, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Seal Beach
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) east of Seal Beach, CA, at 2:18 pm PST on 16 January 2020 (22:18 UTC), 15 km deep. 15 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 5km E of Seal Beach, CA
6 km (4 mi) WSW of Westminster, CA · 46 km (28 mi) SE of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 2:18 pm PST on 16 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) east of Seal Beach, CA · earthquakes near Seal Beach
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 15 km below the surface
- Felt
- 15 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Orange County, 27 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault, 1 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 2491 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Seal 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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Seal Beach, 5 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: Seal Beach 5 km, intensity II · Westminster 5 km, intensity II · Cypress 9 km, intensity II · Stanton 10 km, intensity II · Huntington Beach 10 km, intensity II · Fountain Valley 10 km, intensity II · Garden Grove 11 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 74 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 140,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 13× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 74 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:
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 13 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 36 km N of this epicentre
- 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 36 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 13 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.2 2km WSW of Rosemead, CA · 38 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 33.7333, -118.0558. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 27 km (17 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 55 km (34 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 121 km (75 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| San Diego County, CA | 143 km (89 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near San Diego County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
45 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.6 1km NNE of Lennox, CA
- 1.9 4km SSW of Huntington Beach, CA
- 1.5 2 km SSW of Brea, CA
- 1.9 3 km E of Lennox, CA
- 2.0 0km SSW of South El Monte, CA
- 2.2 3km SE of San Pedro, CA
- 1.9 2km NNE of Gardena, CA
- 2.0 4km W of Culver City, CA
- 1.5 12km ENE of North Tustin, CA
- 1.7 3km NNE of Montebello, CA
- 1.9 13km WSW of Hermosa Beach, CA
- 1.7 10km WSW of Corona, CA
- 1.5 1km NNE of Baldwin Hills, CA
- 1.9 9km SW of Corona, CA
- 2.1 12km SSE of San Pedro, 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.