QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Los Angeles, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Los Angeles in the 24 hours to 6:49 pm PST (02:49 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 30 km (19 mi) S, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Los Angeles

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) west of Los Angeles, CA, at 6:00 am PDT on 18 August 2020 (13:00 UTC), 7.2 km deep. 18 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 1km ESE of Century City, CA

in Los Angeles, CA

6:00 am PDT, Aug 18, 2020 · · 7.2 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Los Angeles Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 21 kmOrange County 72 kmVentura County 75 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
6:00 am PDT on 18 August 2020 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) west of Los Angeles, CA · earthquakes near Los Angeles
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
7.2 km below the surface
Felt
18 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 21 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
Santa Monica 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 2275 days ago

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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Los Angeles, 15 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: Santa Monica 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 790,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 70× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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 4.2 on 2020-07-30 — about 4,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 25 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 21 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 40 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 30 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 26 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 40 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 34.0543, -118.4065. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 21 km (13 mi) NE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Orange County, CA 72 km (45 mi) SE earthquakes near Orange County
Ventura County, CA 75 km (47 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ventura County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 6km NE of Malibu, CA
  2. 1.5 2km SW of La Habra, CA
  3. 1.6 2km SW of La Habra, CA
  4. 1.6 3km W of South El Monte, CA
  5. 1.7 3km W of Sylmar, CA
  6. 1.7 1km W of Brea, CA
  7. 1.8 1km SE of San Fernando, CA
  8. 2.5 1km NW of Bell, CA
  9. 1.6 7km ESE of Santa Clarita, CA
  10. 1.7 3km NE of Granada Hills, CA
  11. 2.4 22km WSW of Manhattan Beach, CA
  12. 1.5 2km S of Granada Hills, CA
  13. 2.2 4km ESE of Los Angeles, CA
  14. 1.7 11km WSW of Manhattan Beach, CA
  15. 1.8 5km ESE of Simi Valley, 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.