Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5ml
Earthquake near Malibu, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Malibu in the 24 hours to 3:23 am PST (11:23 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 2.5 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) south-southeast of Malibu, CA, at 12:50 pm PST on 20 November 2025 (20:50 UTC), 13 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 9 km SE of Malibu, CA
31 km (19 mi) WSW of Los Angeles, CA · 23 km (14 mi) WSW of Santa Monica, CA
- When
- 12:50 pm PST on 20 November 2025 ()
- Where
- 9 km (6 mi) south-southeast of Malibu, CA · earthquakes near Malibu
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity I
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 51 km ENE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Dume fault, 3 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 265 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 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Malibu, 9 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Topanga, Agoura Hills, Agoura, Westlake Village, Santa Monica, Hidden Hills.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 150 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 100,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 72,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 150 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 4.7 on 2024-09-12 — about 2,400 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 Northridge, California, earthquake · 34 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.9 1km ENE of Granada Hills, California · 42 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.6 7km NNE of Simi Valley, California · 42 km N of this epicentre
- 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 22 km ENE of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1973 Point Mugu, California Earthquake · 29 km W 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 33.9528, -118.7358. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 51 km (32 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Ventura County, CA | 58 km (36 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
| Orange County, CA | 94 km (58 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Orange County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
34 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 10 km SSW of Valencia, CA
- 1.8 10 km SSW of Valencia, CA
- 2.8 10 km SSW of Valencia, CA
- 2.5 10 km SSW of Valencia, CA
- 1.7 10 km SSW of Valencia, CA
- 2.2 10 km SSW of Valencia, CA
- 1.9 26 km S of Malibu, CA
- 1.9 11 km SSW of Malibu Beach, CA
- 2.0 6 km E of Topanga, CA
- 1.6 2 km E of Carson, CA
- 2.0 3 km SSE of Lomita, CA
- 1.7 3 km S of Baldwin Hills, CA
- 1.5 2 km WSW of View Park-Windsor Hills, CA
- 1.9 5 km NW of Sylmar, CA
- 1.5 4 km S of West Hollywood, 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.