Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8ml
Earthquake near Irvine, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Irvine in the 24 hours to 9:48 pm PST (05:48 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 36 km (22 mi) WNW, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Irvine
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) south-southwest of Irvine, CA, at 1:45 am PST on 11 January 2026 (09:45 UTC), 9.2 km deep. 8 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2 km N of San Joaquin Hills, CA
7 km (4 mi) NE of Newport Beach, CA · 68 km (42 mi) SE of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 1:45 am PST on 11 January 2026 ()
- Where
- 4 km (3 mi) south-southwest of Irvine, CA · earthquakes near Irvine
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (ml)
- Depth
- 9.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 8 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Orange County, 7 km NE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon 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 305 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Irvine, 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Irvine, 4 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: Irvine 4 km, intensity II · Costa Mesa 8 km, intensity II · Newport Beach 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 16 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 970,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 680,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 61× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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 4.3 on 2021-09-18 — about 5,100 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 15 km W of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 41 km E of this epicentre
- 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 36 km N of this epicentre
- 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 15 km W of this epicentre
- 5.2 8km ENE of Trabuco Canyon, CA · 31 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 33.6342, -117.8358. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, CA | 7 km (4 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Los Angeles County, CA | 74 km (46 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| San Diego County, CA | 120 km (74 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
47 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.2 13 km NNE of Avalon, CA
- 1.7 4 km SE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.5 7 km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
- 2.3 1 km SSE of Signal Hill, CA
- 1.6 0 km E of Signal Hill, CA
- 1.8 1 km N of Hacienda Heights, CA
- 1.8 4 km SE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.6 7 km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
- 2.0 13 km S of San Pedro, CA
- 2.3 16 km NNE of Avalon, CA
- 1.7 3 km NNE of Placentia, CA
- 1.6 4 km SE of Home Gardens, CA
- 1.8 4 km SE of Home Gardens, CA
- 2.3 11 km SSE of San Pedro, CA
- 2.1 1 km SSW of Bellflower, 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.