Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.5ml
Earthquake near Paramount, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Paramount in the 24 hours to 3:40 am PST (11:40 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 12 km (7 mi) SSW, at 12:44 am PDT on 9 October 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 1,090 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Paramount
This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded in Paramount, CA, at 3:19 am PST on 17 January 2026 (11:19 UTC), 9.9 km deep.
USGS: 0 km NE of Paramount, CA
27 km (17 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA · in Paramount, CA
- When
- 3:19 am PST on 17 January 2026 ()
- Where
- in Paramount, CA · earthquakes near Paramount
- Magnitude
- M 1.5 (ml)
- Depth
- 9.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 35 km NNW
- 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 275 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Paramount, CA
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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 3 km (2 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: Paramount in town, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 5.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,600,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.7 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 34,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 32 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 20 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 45 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 37 km E of this epicentre
- 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 34 km WNW 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 33.8915, -118.1575. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 35 km (22 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 43 km (26 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Ventura County, CA | 104 km (64 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
54 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.4 4 km W of Santa Monica, CA
- 1.6 1 km WNW of Universal City, CA
- 1.7 3 km SE of Brea, CA
- 2.2 14 km NNE of Avalon, CA
- 1.8 4 km SW of Marina del Rey, CA
- 1.5 4 km S of West Hollywood, CA
- 1.9 19 km SSE of Malibu Beach, 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
- 2.1 1 km E of Hawthorne, CA
- 2.0 13 km S of San Pedro, CA
- 2.3 16 km NNE of Avalon, CA
- 1.5 4 km WNW of Willowbrook, CA
- 1.7 3 km NNE of Placentia, 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.