QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1ml

Earthquake near Hemet, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Hemet in the 24 hours to 4:53 am PST (12:53 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 7 km (4 mi) N, at 8:52 pm PDT on 14 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 3 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Hemet

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded in Hemet, CA, at 11:51 pm PDT on 4 August 2021 (06:51 UTC), 17 km deep. 573 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2km NW of Hemet, CA

in Hemet, CA · 135 km (84 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA

11:51 pm PDT, Aug 4, 2021 · · 17 km deep · released about 1,400 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hemet Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 74 kmSan Diego County 84 kmRiverside County 91 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
11:51 pm PDT on 4 August 2021 ()
Where
in Hemet, CA · earthquakes near Hemet
Magnitude
M 3.1 (ml)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
573 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Orange County, 74 km W
Nearest mapped fault
San Jacinto fault, 7 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 1757 days ago

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 39 km (24 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: Hemet in town, intensity III · San Jacinto 4 km, intensity III · Valle Vista 9 km, intensity III · Menifee 15 km, intensity II · Beaumont 19 km, intensity II · Banning 21 km, intensity II · Perris 23 km, intensity II · Idyllwild 25 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,400 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 10,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,400× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,400 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.5× more

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 2018-05-08 — about 110 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 1 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.2 3 km SE of San Bernardino, California · 45 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 39 km W of this epicentre
  4. 6.0 The 1986 North Palm Springs, California Earthquake · 44 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 11km SSE of Big Bear Lake, California · 47 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 33.7553, -116.9853. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 74 km (46 mi) W earthquakes near Orange County
San Diego County, CA 84 km (52 mi) SSE earthquakes near San Diego County
Riverside County, CA 91 km (57 mi) E earthquakes near Riverside County
Los Angeles County, CA 128 km (79 mi) WNW earthquakes near Los Angeles County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 5km NE of Wildomar, CA
  2. 2.7 6km N of Beaumont, CA
  3. 1.7 5km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
  4. 1.6 10km NW of Idyllwild, CA
  5. 1.9 9km NNW of Cabazon, CA
  6. 1.8 5km NE of Wildomar, CA
  7. 2.2 4km NE of Beaumont, CA
  8. 1.5 7km ENE of Cabazon, CA
  9. 2.1 5km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
  10. 1.6 7km ENE of Cabazon, CA
  11. 2.6 5km SE of Loma Linda, CA
  12. 1.8 4km NE of Beaumont, CA
  13. 2.4 10km SSW of Idyllwild, CA
  14. 1.8 14km WNW of Anza, CA
  15. 1.7 4km SE of Yucaipa, 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.