Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.2ml
Earthquake near Malibu, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Malibu in the 24 hours to 9:08 am PST (17:08 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 8 km (5 mi) W, at 4:53 am PDT on 16 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Malibu
This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) south-southwest of Malibu, CA, at 5:24 am PST on 26 January 2022 (13:24 UTC), 2.0 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 25km N of Santa Barbara Is., CA
66 km (41 mi) WSW of Los Angeles, CA · 57 km (35 mi) SSW of Thousand Oaks, CA
- When
- 5:24 am PST on 26 January 2022 ()
- Where
- 42 km (26 mi) south-southwest of Malibu, CA · earthquakes near Malibu
- Magnitude
- M 2.2 (ml)
- Depth
- 2.0 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Ventura County, 75 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- Catalina fault, 3 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 1751 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Malibu, CA
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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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Malibu, 42 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 62 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 240,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 170,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 15× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.2 about 62 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 4.0 on 2020-01-02 — about 540 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.5 11km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 19 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1973 Point Mugu, California Earthquake · 32 km N of this epicentre
- 5.2 13km S of Malibu Beach, CA · 39 km NE 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 33.6960, -119.0088. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura County, CA | 75 km (46 mi) | N | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 89 km (55 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 114 km (71 mi) | E | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 133 km (83 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara 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.
- 1.7 15km SSE of Camarillo, CA
- 2.3 31km S of Malibu, CA
- 1.7 9km SSE of Malibu Beach, CA
- 2.5 17km WSW of El Segundo, CA
- 1.5 6km SSW of Malibu, CA
- 2.1 12km WNW of Malibu, CA
- 2.4 16km S of Malibu Beach, CA
- 1.8 19km WSW of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 2.1 17km W of Manhattan Beach, CA
- 1.7 13km WNW of Malibu, CA
- 2.8 26km SE of Santa Cruz Is. (E end), CA
- 2.0 12km WNW of Malibu, CA
- 2.8 24km ESE of Santa Barbara Is., CA
- 2.3 15km SSE of Port Hueneme, CA
- 1.9 15km S of Malibu 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
- 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.