QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5ml

Earthquake near Costa Mesa, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Costa Mesa in the 24 hours to 5:28 am PST (13:28 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 29 km (18 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 Costa Mesa

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) north-northwest of Costa Mesa, CA, at 9:50 pm PST on 13 December 2025 (05:50 UTC), 9.0 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 2 km NW of Costa Mesa, CA

in Costa Mesa, CA · 58 km (36 mi) SE of Los Angeles, CA

9:50 pm PST, Dec 13, 2025 · · 9.0 km deep · released about 5.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Costa Mesa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orange County 15 kmLos Angeles County 65 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
9:50 pm PST on 13 December 2025 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) north-northwest of Costa Mesa, CA · earthquakes near Costa Mesa
Magnitude
M 1.5 (ml)
Depth
9.0 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports
Nearest
Orange County, 15 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Newport-Inglewood-Rose Canyon fault, under 1 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 332 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 4 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Costa Mesa, 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: Fountain Valley 4 km, intensity II · Costa Mesa 4 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.4 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,000,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 180× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.4 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 36,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 8 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 The 1910 Lake Elsinore, California Earthquake · 49 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 45 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 34 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 7km W of Newport Beach, CA · 9 km SW 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 33.6780, -117.9340. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orange County, CA 15 km (9 mi) E earthquakes near Orange County
Los Angeles County, CA 65 km (40 mi) NNW earthquakes near Los Angeles County
San Diego County, CA 130 km (81 mi) SE earthquakes near San Diego County
Ventura County, CA 134 km (83 mi) NW earthquakes near Ventura 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. 1.5 6 km SSE of Home Gardens, CA
  2. 1.6 4 km W of Willowbrook, CA
  3. 2.5 5 km SE of Ontario, CA
  4. 1.5 4 km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  5. 1.9 2 km NE of Inglewood, CA
  6. 1.6 3 km SSW of Paramount, CA
  7. 1.6 8 km ESE of Yorba Linda, CA
  8. 1.8 17 km NE of Avalon, CA
  9. 1.7 3 km E of Inglewood, CA
  10. 1.8 5 km SE of Seal Beach, CA
  11. 1.6 6 km W of Huntington Beach, CA
  12. 2.0 5 km SE of Home Gardens, CA
  13. 1.8 19 km NE of Avalon, CA
  14. 1.6 7 km SE of Chino Hills, CA
  15. 1.6 4 km SE of Home Gardens, 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.