Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5ml
Earthquake near Bell, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bell in the 24 hours to 5:12 am PST (13:12 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 21 km (13 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 Bell
This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded in Bell, CA, at 10:21 pm PST on 5 December 2020 (06:21 UTC), 14 km deep. 262 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 1km NW of Bell, CA
21 km (13 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA · in Huntington Park, CA
- When
- 10:21 pm PST on 5 December 2020 ()
- Where
- in Bell, CA · earthquakes near Bell
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- 262 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 25 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Puente Hills blind thrust system, 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 2099 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bell, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Bell, CA. No account or email needed.
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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Bell in town, intensity II · Maywood in town, intensity II · Huntington Park 3 km, intensity II · South Gate 4 km, intensity II · Bell Gardens 4 km, intensity II · East Los Angeles 5 km, intensity II · Florence-Graham 5 km, intensity II · Lynwood 6 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 180 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 83,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 59,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 180 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 4.5 on 2020-09-19 — about 1,100 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 18 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 41 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 43 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 14 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 43 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 37 km NNE 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 33.9827, -118.1920. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 25 km (15 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 51 km (32 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Ventura County, CA | 96 km (60 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
56 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 1km N of Lennox, CA
- 1.9 1km N of Lennox, CA
- 1.8 1km SSE of Inglewood, CA
- 1.6 2km WSW of Inglewood, CA
- 1.6 1km SW of Inglewood, CA
- 1.6 2km W of Inglewood, CA
- 2.0 1km WSW of Inglewood, CA
- 1.6 3km W of Inglewood, CA
- 1.7 2km WNW of Lennox, CA
- 1.6 2km ENE of Lennox, CA
- 2.4 1km NE of Lennox, CA
- 2.0 2km WNW of Lennox, CA
- 1.8 2km WNW of Lennox, CA
- 2.0 2km NW of Lennox, CA
- 4.0 2km E of Lennox, 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.