Earthquake near El Centro, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in El Centro in the 24 hours to 8:41 am PST (16:41 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 4.6 earthquake was recorded in El Centro, CA, at 12:42 am PST on 12 February 2024 (08:42 UTC), 16 km deep. 415 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2 km NNW of El Centro, CA

12:42 am PST, Feb 12, 2024 · 2024-02-12 08:42 UTC · 16 km deep · released about 100 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near El Centro Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area

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: 12:42 am PST on 12 February 2024 (2024-02-12 08:42 UTC)
Where: in El Centro, CA · earthquakes near El Centro
Magnitude: M 4.6 (mw)
Depth: 16 km below the surface
Felt: 415 reports · strongest reported intensity VI
Measured shaking: intensity V (ShakeMap)
USGS impact alert: green
Nearest: Imperial County, 33 km NE
Nearest mapped fault: Imperial fault, 9 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 456 days ago · we first saw it 456 days ago

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 144 km (89 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: El Centro in town, intensity IV · Imperial 5 km, intensity IV · Calexico 15 km, intensity IV · Holtville 17 km, intensity IV · Brawley 20 km, intensity III · Calipatria 37 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 100 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 1,600× the energy of this one
Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 72× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 51× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 4.6 about 100 tons of TNT
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 220× 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 11 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 40 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

6.9 The 1940 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 18 km ENE of this epicentre May 19, 1940
6.6 The 1942 Fish Creek Mountains, California Earthquake · 28 km NW of this epicentre Oct 21, 1942
6.6 The 1987 Superstition Hills, California Earthquake · 36 km NW of this epicentre Nov 24, 1987
6.4 The 1979 Imperial Valley Earthquake, California-Baja California · 24 km SE of this epicentre Oct 15, 1979
6.3 The 1906 Imperial Valley, California Earthquake · 13 km NNE of this epicentre Apr 19, 1906

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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Imperial County, CA	33 km (21 mi)	NE	earthquakes near Imperial County
Riverside County, CA	111 km (69 mi)	NNW	earthquakes near Riverside County
San Diego County, CA	116 km (72 mi)	WNW	earthquakes near San Diego County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

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

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 16:41 UTC. 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.