Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9ml
Earthquake near Malibu, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Malibu in the 24 hours to 5:56 am PST (13:56 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 2.9 earthquake was recorded 15 km (10 mi) south of Malibu, CA, at 9:02 am PDT on 21 March 2022 (16:02 UTC), 14 km deep. 124 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 14km SSE of Malibu, CA
35 km (22 mi) WSW of Los Angeles, CA · 27 km (17 mi) WSW of Santa Monica, CA
- When
- 9:02 am PDT on 21 March 2022 ()
- Where
- 15 km (10 mi) south of Malibu, CA · earthquakes near Malibu
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (ml)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- 124 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 57 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Pedro Basin 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 1387 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 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 27 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Malibu, 15 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: Topanga, Agoura Hills, Agoura, Santa Monica, Westlake Village.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 630 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 24,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 17,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 630 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 4.3 on 2021-09-18 — about 130 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 41 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 49 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.6 7km NNE of Simi Valley, California · 49 km N of this epicentre
- 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 27 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1973 Point Mugu, California Earthquake · 29 km WNW 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 33.8888, -118.7550. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 57 km (35 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 63 km (39 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Orange County, CA | 93 km (58 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 138 km (86 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
45 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 2km ESE of Chatsworth, CA
- 1.6 0km N of Carson, CA
- 1.9 1km SSW of Port Hueneme, CA
- 1.7 6km W of Marina del Rey, CA
- 1.6 3km SSE of Gardena, CA
- 2.4 3km S of Gardena, CA
- 1.9 1km N of Carson, CA
- 2.1 4km E of Lennox, CA
- 2.4 13km W of Palos Verdes Estates, CA
- 1.7 5km SE of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 2.3 12km WSW of Manhattan Beach, CA
- 2.2 12km WSW of Manhattan Beach, CA
- 2.3 1km S of View Park-Windsor Hills, CA
- 2.0 11km SW of Marina del Rey, CA
- 1.7 2km E of Carson, 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.