QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1ml

Earthquake near Hermosa Beach, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Hermosa Beach in the 24 hours to 4:44 am PST (12:44 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 2.1 earthquake was recorded in Hermosa Beach, CA, at 6:52 am PDT on 5 May 2023 (13:52 UTC), 12 km deep. 21 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 1km NW of Hermosa Beach, CA

17 km (10 mi) S of Los Angeles, CA · in Redondo Beach, CA

6:52 am PDT, May 5, 2023 · · 12 km deep · released about 49 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hermosa Beach Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 39 kmOrange County 62 kmVentura County 86 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
6:52 am PDT on 5 May 2023 ()
Where
in Hermosa Beach, CA · earthquakes near Hermosa Beach
Magnitude
M 2.1 (ml)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
21 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 39 km NNE
Nearest mapped fault
Palos Verdes 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 925 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 13 km (8 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: Manhattan Beach in town, intensity II · Redondo Beach 3 km, intensity II · Lawndale 6 km, intensity II · Hawthorne 7 km, intensity II · Torrance 7 km, intensity II · Palos Verdes Estates 8 km, intensity II · Gardena 10 km, intensity II · Inglewood 11 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 49 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 310,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 220,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 49 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 4,000 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 · 40 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 46 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 37 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 46 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 33.8708, -118.4098. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 39 km (24 mi) NNE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Orange County, CA 62 km (39 mi) ESE earthquakes near Orange County
Ventura County, CA 86 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

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

  1. 2.0 7 km SW of Malibu, CA
  2. 2.0 22 km SSW of Seal Beach, CA
  3. 1.5 3 km NNE of Baldwin Hills, CA
  4. 2.6 1 km SSE of View Park-Windsor Hills, CA
  5. 1.6 6 km SSW of Malibu Beach, CA
  6. 1.5 3 km WSW of Huntington Beach, CA
  7. 1.9 3 km W of Topanga, CA
  8. 1.6 4 km NNE of Baldwin Hills, CA
  9. 2.7 3 km E of Carson, CA
  10. 2.7 4 km ENE of Inglewood, CA
  11. 1.6 5 km NE of View Park-Windsor Hills, CA
  12. 2.3 32 km W of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
  13. 1.5 10 km W of Malibu, CA
  14. 1.7 4 km ESE of Gardena, CA
  15. 2.1 3 km NNE of Granada Hills, 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.