Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1ml
Earthquake near Malibu, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Malibu in the 24 hours to 3:49 am PST (11:49 UTC). The last one was M 2.3, 8 km (5 mi) W, at 4:53 am PDT on 16 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 2 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Malibu
This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) south of Malibu, CA, at 7:10 am PDT on 4 August 2024 (14:10 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 50 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 22 km SSE of Malibu, CA
39 km (24 mi) SW of Los Angeles, CA · 32 km (20 mi) SW of Santa Monica, CA
- When
- 7:10 am PDT on 4 August 2024 ()
- Where
- 24 km (15 mi) south of Malibu, CA · earthquakes near Malibu
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 0.8 km below the surface
- Felt
- 50 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity II (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 62 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Pedro Basin fault, 7 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 591 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Malibu, CA
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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 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 42 km (26 mi) from the epicentre. In Malibu, 24 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: Manhattan Beach 32 km, intensity II · Santa Monica 33 km, intensity II · Palos Verdes Estates 33 km, intensity II · Redondo Beach 34 km, intensity II · Rancho Palos Verdes 35 km, intensity II · Agoura 37 km, intensity II · Lawndale 38 km, intensity II · Torrance 38 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,400 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 230,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 10,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,400× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,400 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.5× 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 4.6 on 2024-02-09 — about 170 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 49 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.5 11km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 44 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 31 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1973 Point Mugu, California Earthquake · 33 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.2 1 km SW of Las Flores, California · 26 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 33.8135, -118.7518. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 62 km (39 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 70 km (44 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Orange County, CA | 91 km (57 mi) | E | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Santa Barbara County, CA | 143 km (89 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Santa Barbara 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.
- 2.9 1 km WNW of Lennox, CA
- 3.1 6 km NNE of Malibu, CA
- 1.8 6 km N of Malibu, CA
- 1.9 6 km N of Malibu, CA
- 2.8 6 km N of Malibu, CA
- 1.5 4 km NNE of Malibu, CA
- 2.9 6 km N of Malibu, CA
- 1.6 6 km N of Malibu, CA
- 3.7 6 km N of Malibu, CA
- 2.3 6 km N of Malibu, CA
- 1.9 6 km NNE of Malibu, CA
- 1.5 5 km N of Malibu, CA
- 1.7 6 km N of Malibu, CA
- 2.4 5 km N of Malibu, CA
- 2.5 5 km N of Malibu, 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.