QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4ml

Earthquake near Hermosa Beach, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Hermosa Beach in the 24 hours to 1:36 pm PST (21:36 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 22 km (13 mi) ESE, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Hermosa Beach

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) west-southwest of Hermosa Beach, CA, at 5:57 pm PDT on 12 October 2020 (00:57 UTC), 13 km deep. 99 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 5km WSW of Hermosa Beach, CA

19 km (12 mi) S of Los Angeles, CA · in Redondo Beach, CA

5:57 pm PDT, Oct 12, 2020 · · 13 km deep · released about 140 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hermosa Beach Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 42 kmOrange County 65 kmVentura County 85 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
5:57 pm PDT on 12 October 2020 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) west-southwest of Hermosa Beach, CA · earthquakes near Hermosa Beach
Magnitude
M 2.4 (ml)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
99 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 42 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Palos Verdes fault, under 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 2018 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Hermosa 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: Manhattan Beach 5 km, intensity II · Redondo Beach 5 km, intensity II · Palos Verdes Estates 8 km, intensity II · Lawndale 10 km, intensity II · Torrance 10 km, intensity II · Hawthorne 11 km, intensity II · Rancho Palos Verdes 13 km, intensity II · Gardena 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 140 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 110,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 78,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 140 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 1,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 41 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 48 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 41 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 47 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 17 km NNW 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 33.8508, -118.4472. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 42 km (26 mi) NNE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Orange County, CA 65 km (40 mi) ESE earthquakes near Orange County
Ventura County, CA 85 km (53 mi) NW earthquakes near Ventura County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 2km NW of Lennox, CA
  2. 4.0 2km E of Lennox, CA
  3. 2.4 2km NW of Lennox, CA
  4. 3.0 2km ENE of Lennox, CA
  5. 1.7 2km SE of Inglewood, CA
  6. 3.0 1km ENE of Huntington Park, CA
  7. 2.0 3km SW of San Pedro, CA
  8. 1.9 6km W of Manhattan Beach, CA
  9. 1.6 4km NE of View Park-Windsor Hills, CA
  10. 2.5 0km NW of Pacoima, CA
  11. 2.3 1km WNW of Pacoima, CA
  12. 1.5 4km NNE of Montebello, CA
  13. 2.1 6km SSW of Agoura Hills, CA
  14. 1.7 7km WSW of Malibu, CA
  15. 1.7 5km WSW of Hermosa 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.