Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.6ml
Earthquake near Temecula, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Temecula in the 24 hours to 1:57 pm PST (21:57 UTC). The last one was M 2.4, 4 km (2 mi) NE, at 3:31 am PDT on 5 September 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Temecula
This page: a magnitude 3.6 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) east-southeast of Temecula, CA, at 12:31 am PDT on 19 August 2026 (07:31 UTC), 4.7 km deep. 165 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 14 km N of Warner Springs, CA
80 km (50 mi) NE of San Diego, CA · 45 km (28 mi) SW of Palm Desert, CA
- When
- 12:31 am PDT on 19 August 2026 ()
- Where
- 47 km (29 mi) east-southeast of Temecula, CA · earthquakes near Temecula
- Magnitude
- M 3.6 (ml)
- Depth
- 4.7 km below the surface
- Felt
- 165 reports · strongest reported intensity III
- Measured shaking
- intensity III (ShakeMap)
- Nearest
- San Diego County, 44 km SSW
- Nearest mapped fault
- San Jacinto fault, 13 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 65 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Temecula, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Temecula, 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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 72 km (45 mi) from the epicentre. In Temecula, 47 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: Anza 17 km, intensity III · Aguanga 20 km, intensity III · Borrego Springs 31 km, intensity III · Julian 37 km, intensity II · Idyllwild 38 km, intensity II · La Quinta 43 km, intensity II · Palm Desert 43 km, intensity II · Valle Vista 44 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 4.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 39,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.6 about 4.3 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 9.1× more
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 5.2 on 2025-04-14 — about 230 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.7 The 1918 San Jacinto, California Earthquake · 49 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.0 16km WSW of Oasis, CA · 37 km E of this epicentre
- 5.5 1km ENE of Borrego Springs, CA · 32 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.4 20km NNW of Borrego Springs, CA · 16 km E of this epicentre
- 5.3 6km SSE of Hemet, CA · 42 km NW 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 33.4063, -116.6520. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego County, CA | 44 km (27 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Diego County |
| Riverside County, CA | 70 km (44 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Riverside County |
| Orange County, CA | 108 km (67 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Orange County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
55 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 0.4 7 km SW of Anza, CA
- 1.1 8 km SW of Anza, CA
- 0.5 5 km ESE of Valle Vista, CA
- 0.1 4 km WSW of Anza, CA
- 1.4 21 km ESE of Anza, CA
- 1.2 21 km ESE of Anza, CA
- 0.5 12 km NW of Anza, CA
- 0.4 9 km SW of Idyllwild, CA
- 0.5 15 km ESE of Anza, CA
- 0.8 8 km NNW of Lake Henshaw, CA
- 0.7 8 km NNW of Lake Henshaw, CA
- 1.8 12 km SW of Borrego Springs, CA
- 0.6 13 km NNE of Warner Springs, CA
- 0.3 12 km W of Anza, CA
- 0.3 9 km WNW of Anza, 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.