Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Imperial Beach, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Imperial Beach in the 24 hours to 4:27 am PST (12:27 UTC). The last one was M 4.7, 151 km (94 mi) ENE, at 12:10 am PDT on 10 May 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 203 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Imperial Beach
This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) west-southwest of Imperial Beach, CA, at 2:42 pm PST on 5 February 2021 (22:42 UTC), 17 km deep.
USGS: 11km WSW of Imperial Beach, CA
31 km (19 mi) SSW of San Diego, CA · 18 km (11 mi) SW of National City, CA
- When
- 2:42 pm PST on 5 February 2021 ()
- Where
- 11 km (7 mi) west-southwest of Imperial Beach, CA · earthquakes near Imperial Beach
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 17 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- San Diego County, 68 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon 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 2105 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Imperial Beach, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Imperial Beach, 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 minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Imperial Beach, 11 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Coronado, Chula Vista, National City, San Diego, Bonita, La Presa.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 18 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 840,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 53× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.9 about 18 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.
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 32.5467, -117.2238. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 68 km (42 mi) | NE | earthquakes near San Diego County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.5 22km W of La Jolla, CA
- 2.6 10km SE of Tijuana, B.C., MX
- 1.5 5km ESE of Chula Vista, CA
- 1.6 5km NE of San Ysidro, CA
- 1.7 20km NNE of Primo Tapia, B.C., MX
- 1.6 6km NNW of Lakeside, CA
- 1.7 30km WSW of La Jolla, CA
- 1.7 18km WSW of La Jolla, CA
- 1.6 5km NE of Rancho San Diego, CA
- 1.7 21km NNE of Primo Tapia, B.C., MX
- 1.6 21km NNE of Primo Tapia, B.C., MX
- 1.6 4km NNE of San Ysidro, CA
- 1.6 3km NNE of San Ysidro, CA
- 1.6 6km NNW of Lakeside, CA
- 2.0 13km NW of Rosarito, B.C., MX
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.