Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.0mw
Earthquake near El Centro, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in El Centro in the 24 hours to 12:14 am PST (08:14 UTC). The last one was M 4.9, 54 km (33 mi) SE, at 10:27 am PST on 3 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 321 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near El Centro
This page: a magnitude 4.0 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) west-northwest of El Centro, CA, at 5:17 am PDT on 20 May 2024 (12:17 UTC), 11 km deep. 484 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 17 km SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- When
- 5:17 am PDT on 20 May 2024 ()
- Where
- 49 km (30 mi) west-northwest of El Centro, CA · earthquakes near El Centro
- Magnitude
- M 4.0 (mw)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- 484 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity V (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Tsunami
- USGS flagged this event for tsunami evaluation. Follow tsunami.gov for official messages.
- Nearest
- Imperial County, 61 km E
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Jacinto fault, 4 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 191 days ago
Earthquake alerts for El Centro, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near El Centro, CA. No account or email needed.
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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 100 km (62 mi) from the epicentre. In El Centro, 49 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Salton City 30 km, intensity III · Borrego Springs 43 km, intensity III · Brawley 45 km, intensity III · Imperial 45 km, intensity III · Calipatria 47 km, intensity III · El Centro 49 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 18 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 9,400× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 420× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 300× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.0 about 18 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 38× 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 5.3 on 2021-06-05 — about 63 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 31 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 21 km ESE of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1968 Borrego Mountain, California Earthquake · 19 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 14 km E of this epicentre
- 6.4 The 1954 San Jacinto Fault, California Earthquake · 31 km NNW of this epicentre
- 6.3 The 1906 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 49 km ESE 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 33.0280, -116.0047. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial County, CA | 61 km (38 mi) | E | earthquakes near Imperial County |
| San Diego County, CA | 72 km (45 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Riverside County, CA | 78 km (48 mi) | N | earthquakes near Riverside 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.
- 2.7 13 km WSW of Salton City, CA
- 2.5 6 km W of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.6 8 km NNE of Westmorland, CA
- 2.0 12 km WNW of Calipatria, CA
- 1.8 5 km W of Borrego Springs, CA
- 1.9 13 km SE of Ocotillo, CA
- 1.6 17 km SE of Ocotillo Wells, CA
- 2.6 1 km SSW of Brawley, CA
- 2.1 21 km NW of Ocotillo, CA
- 1.7 11 km E of Julian, CA
- 1.5 5 km W of Borrego Springs, CA
- 2.3 17 km SW of Oasis, CA
- 1.5 18 km WNW of Progreso, B.C., MX
- 1.8 4 km SW of Imperial, CA
- 1.8 5 km WSW of Niland, 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.