QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Willowbrook, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Willowbrook in the 24 hours to 6:25 am PST (14:25 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 4 km (2 mi) SW, at 2:31 pm PDT on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Willowbrook

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded in Willowbrook, CA, at 1:38 am PDT on 12 October 2023 (08:38 UTC), 22 km deep. 9 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2 km SW of Willowbrook, CA

18 km (11 mi) SE of Los Angeles, CA · in Gardena, CA

1:38 am PDT, Oct 12, 2023 · · 22 km deep · released about 180 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Willowbrook Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 32 kmOrange County 52 kmVentura County 94 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
1:38 am PDT on 12 October 2023 ()
Where
in Willowbrook, CA · earthquakes near Willowbrook
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
22 km below the surface
Felt
9 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 32 km N
Nearest mapped fault
Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault, 5 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 1062 days ago

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 6 km (4 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: Willowbrook in town, intensity II · Gardena 4 km, intensity II · Westmont 5 km, intensity II · Compton 5 km, intensity II · Lynwood 6 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 180 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 83,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 59,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 180 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 1,100 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 42 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 40 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 24 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 46 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 48 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 33.9085, -118.2702. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 32 km (20 mi) N earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Orange County, CA 52 km (33 mi) ESE earthquakes near Orange County
Ventura County, CA 94 km (58 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ventura 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. 1.9 4 km ESE of Placentia, CA
  2. 1.6 2 km NE of Yorba Linda, CA
  3. 1.9 2 km ENE of El Segundo, CA
  4. 2.2 2 km N of Huntington Park, CA
  5. 2.5 3 km N of Huntington Park, CA
  6. 2.0 3 km SE of Marina del Rey, CA
  7. 1.8 18 km S of San Pedro, CA
  8. 2.3 22 km SSW of San Pedro, CA
  9. 1.8 2 km ENE of Carson, CA
  10. 1.6 2 km NW of Tarzana, CA
  11. 1.8 21 km S of San Pedro, CA
  12. 2.3 4 km SW of Sherman Oaks, CA
  13. 1.6 2 km WNW of Rossmoor, CA
  14. 1.6 3 km WSW of La Habra, CA
  15. 2.0 4 km ENE of Seal 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.