Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.1ml
Earthquake near Bellflower, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Bellflower in the 24 hours to 3:43 am PST (11:43 UTC). The last one was M 3.2, 12 km (8 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 Bellflower
This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded in Bellflower, CA, at 11:02 am PDT on 18 May 2026 (18:02 UTC), 9.6 km deep. 63 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 1 km SSW of Bellflower, CA
in Bellflower, CA · 31 km (19 mi) ESE of Los Angeles, CA
- When
- 11:02 am PDT on 18 May 2026 ()
- Where
- in Bellflower, CA · earthquakes near Bellflower
- Magnitude
- M 2.1 (ml)
- Depth
- 9.6 km below the surface
- Felt
- 63 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Nearest
- Los Angeles County, 38 km NNW
- Nearest mapped fault
- Puente Hills blind thrust system, 4 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 176 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bellflower, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Bellflower, CA. No account or email needed.
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 14 km (9 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: Bellflower in town, intensity II · Lakewood 2 km, intensity II · Paramount 4 km, intensity II · Norwalk 5 km, intensity II · Cerritos 6 km, intensity II · Downey 8 km, intensity II · Signal Hill 8 km, intensity II · Compton 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 44 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 340,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 240,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.1 about 44 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 4,400 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.4 The 1933 Long Beach, California Earthquake · 29 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.9 The 1987 Whittier Narrows, California Earthquake · 22 km N of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1991 Sierra Madre, California Earthquake · 46 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.5 The 1990 Upland, California Earthquake · 50 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.4 5km S of Chino Hills, CA · 34 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 33.8698, -118.1247. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 38 km (24 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Los Angeles County |
| Orange County, CA | 39 km (24 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Orange County |
| Ventura County, CA | 108 km (67 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Ventura County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 3 km ENE of Hawthorne, CA
- 1.8 2 km E of Lennox, CA
- 1.6 2 km NNE of Inglewood, CA
- 1.8 10 km ENE of North Tustin, CA
- 3.1 4 km SSE of Compton, CA
- 1.5 17 km SSE of San Pedro, CA
- 1.9 1 km SW of Bell, CA
- 2.1 1 km N of Huntington Beach, CA
- 1.8 2 km NW of Universal City, CA
- 1.9 14 km SSW of San Pedro, CA
- 1.7 2 km NNW of La Verne, CA
- 2.1 6 km SSW of Encino, CA
- 1.6 3 km NE of Silver Lake, CA
- 2.3 9 km SE of San Pedro, CA
- 1.6 4 km ENE of Carson, 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.