QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5ml

Earthquake near Malibu, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Malibu in the 24 hours to 3:50 am PST (11:50 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 29 km (18 mi) south of Malibu, CA, at 8:27 pm PDT on 17 March 2026 (03:27 UTC), less than 1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 27 km SSE of Malibu, CA

41 km (26 mi) SW of Los Angeles, CA · 32 km (20 mi) WSW of Redondo Beach, CA

8:27 pm PDT, Mar 17, 2026 · · 0.1 km deep · released about 160 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Malibu Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Los Angeles County 65 kmVentura County 75 kmOrange County 89 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
8:27 pm PDT on 17 March 2026 ()
Where
29 km (18 mi) south of Malibu, CA · earthquakes near Malibu
Magnitude
M 2.5 (ml)
Depth
0.1 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Los Angeles County, 65 km NE
Nearest mapped fault
San Pedro Basin fault, 8 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 170 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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Malibu, 29 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 160 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 92,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 65,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 160 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 2,200 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.5 11km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA · 43 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 2 km SSW of Santa Monica, California · 34 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.3 The 1973 Point Mugu, California Earthquake · 37 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 1 km SW of Las Flores, California · 30 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 13km S of Malibu Beach, CA · 17 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 33.7673, -118.7360. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Los Angeles County, CA 65 km (40 mi) NE earthquakes near Los Angeles County
Ventura County, CA 75 km (47 mi) NNW earthquakes near Ventura County
Orange County, CA 89 km (55 mi) E earthquakes near Orange 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.

  1. 1.7 4 km NNE of View Park-Windsor Hills, CA
  2. 1.7 3 km E of Lennox, CA
  3. 2.3 3 km ENE of Hawthorne, CA
  4. 1.8 2 km E of Lennox, CA
  5. 1.6 2 km NNE of Inglewood, CA
  6. 3.1 4 km SSE of Compton, CA
  7. 1.5 17 km SSE of San Pedro, CA
  8. 1.9 14 km SSW of San Pedro, CA
  9. 1.8 11 km WNW of Malibu, CA
  10. 2.1 6 km SSW of Encino, CA
  11. 2.7 35 km NNW of Santa Barbara Is., CA
  12. 2.3 9 km SE of San Pedro, CA
  13. 1.6 4 km ENE of Carson, CA
  14. 2.5 6 km WSW of Malibu, CA
  15. 1.6 2 km WSW of Hermosa Beach, 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.