Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.3ml
Earthquake near Los Angeles, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Los Angeles in the 24 hours to 12:55 pm PST (20:55 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 3.3 earthquake was recorded 38 km (23 mi) west of Los Angeles, CA, at 8:05 am PDT on 8 May 2023 (15:05 UTC), 7.2 km deep. 727 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2km WNW of Las Flores, CA
23 km (14 mi) W of Los Angeles, CA · 15 km (9 mi) WNW of Santa Monica, CA
- When
- 8:05 am PDT on 8 May 2023 ()
- Where
- 38 km (23 mi) west of Los Angeles, CA · earthquakes near Los Angeles
- Magnitude
- M 3.3 (ml)
- Depth
- 7.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 727 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity IV (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 40 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Malibu Coast 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 1180 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Los Angeles, CA
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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 53 km (33 mi) from the epicentre. In Los Angeles, 38 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.
Likely felt in: Agoura 13 km, intensity III · Santa Monica 15 km, intensity III · Thousand Oaks 22 km, intensity III · Simi Valley 28 km, intensity II · Manhattan Beach 29 km, intensity II · Inglewood 29 km, intensity II · Hawthorne 31 km, intensity II · Redondo Beach 33 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.4 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 120,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,200× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 3,700× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.4 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 3× 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 4.3 on 2021-09-18 — about 28 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 22 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 22 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.6 1971 San Fernando Earthquake, California · 49 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 30 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 49 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.8 10km SSW of Agua Dulce, CA · 49 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 34.0453, -118.6537. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 40 km (25 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 56 km (35 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Orange County, CA | 91 km (56 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Orange County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
42 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.7 6 km E of Moorpark, CA
- 2.3 32 km W of Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
- 1.7 14 km SSW of Thousand Oaks, CA
- 1.5 10 km W of Malibu, CA
- 1.7 4 km ESE of Gardena, CA
- 2.1 3 km NNE of Granada Hills, CA
- 1.7 10 km E of Santa Clarita, CA
- 1.7 1 km ENE of Lennox, CA
- 1.6 6km NNE of Chatsworth, CA
- 1.8 4km SW of Compton, CA
- 1.8 4km SSE of Highland Park, CA
- 2.8 2km ENE of Walnut Park, CA
- 2.7 2km WSW of Bell, CA
- 2.0 18km W of Malibu, CA
- 1.5 1km SSW of Century City, 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.