Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.9ml
Earthquake near Los Angeles, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Los Angeles in the 24 hours to 6:02 am PST (14:02 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 1.9 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) northwest of Los Angeles, CA, at 8:47 pm PST on 19 February 2021 (04:47 UTC), 17 km deep.
USGS: 5km NNW of Chatsworth, CA
12 km (8 mi) ENE of Simi Valley, CA · 36 km (23 mi) NNW of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 8:47 pm PST on 19 February 2021 ()
- Where
- 44 km (27 mi) northwest of Los Angeles, CA · earthquakes near Los Angeles
- Magnitude
- M 1.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 17 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 35 km ESE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Simi-Santa Rosa 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 2089 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Los Angeles, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Los Angeles, 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 Los Angeles, 44 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Stevenson Ranch, Santa Clarita, Simi Valley, Hidden Hills, Valencia, Val Verde.
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
The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.2 on 2020-07-30 — about 3,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 19 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 12 km SE of this epicentre
- 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 27 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 12 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 27 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 27 km ENE 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 34.2973, -118.6210. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 35 km (22 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 48 km (30 mi) | W | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Orange County, CA | 104 km (65 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Kern County, CA | 117 km (73 mi) | N | earthquakes near Kern County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 2km ESE of Inglewood, CA
- 1.6 1km ENE of Inglewood, CA
- 2.0 1km SE of Lennox, CA
- 1.9 1km SW of Inglewood, CA
- 1.7 0km NW of Lennox, CA
- 1.6 1km NNE of Lennox, CA
- 1.6 1km SW of Inglewood, CA
- 2.0 1km WSW of Inglewood, CA
- 2.0 1km E of Lennox, CA
- 1.8 1km NNE of Lennox, CA
- 1.5 1km NW of Inglewood, CA
- 1.6 1km WSW of Inglewood, CA
- 2.3 1km ENE of Lennox, CA
- 1.8 1km S of Inglewood, CA
- 1.6 2km ENE 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.