QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near La Mirada, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in La Mirada in the 24 hours to 5:23 am PST (13:23 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 21 km (13 mi) SW, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near La Mirada

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded in La Mirada, CA, at 2:03 pm PDT on 30 March 2024 (21:03 UTC), 9.4 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 1 km S of La Mirada, CA

5 km (3 mi) N of Buena Park, CA · 39 km (24 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA

2:03 pm PDT, Mar 30, 2024 · · 9.4 km deep · released about 17 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 33 kmLos Angeles County 40 kmVentura County 115 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
2:03 pm PDT on 30 March 2024 ()
Where
in La Mirada, CA · earthquakes near La Mirada
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
9.4 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Orange County, 33 km SE
Nearest mapped fault
Puente Hills blind thrust system, 2 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 955 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 10 km (6 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: La Mirada in town, intensity II · Buena Park 4 km, intensity II · South Whittier 6 km, intensity II · La Habra 7 km, intensity II · Norwalk 7 km, intensity II · Cerritos 7 km, intensity II · Whittier 9 km, intensity II · Fullerton 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 17 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 870,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 620,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 55× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 11,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 30 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 18 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 41 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 39 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 23 km ENE 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 33.9050, -118.0097. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 33 km (21 mi) SE earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 40 km (25 mi) NW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 115 km (71 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ventura County
San Diego County, CA 151 km (94 mi) SE earthquakes near San Diego County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 4 km SSE of Highland Park, CA
  2. 1.8 4 km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  3. 3.4 4 km SW of South Pasadena, CA
  4. 1.8 8 km SW of Corona, CA
  5. 1.9 4 km NNE of El Segundo, CA
  6. 2.1 9 km SW of Corona, CA
  7. 1.9 4 km NE of North Tustin, CA
  8. 1.5 6 km NNW of Glen Avon, CA
  9. 2.6 6 km NNW of Glen Avon, CA
  10. 1.7 6 km NNW of Glen Avon, CA
  11. 1.5 5 km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  12. 1.6 5 km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
  13. 1.6 10 km SW of Corona, CA
  14. 1.5 16 km S of San Pedro, CA
  15. 1.7 9 km SW of Corona, 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.