Earthquake near Union City, CA

Yes. A magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) ESE of Union City, CA, at 10:29 am PDT on 30 May 2016 (17:29 UTC), 8.8 km deep. 61 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

This was on 30 May 2016. The latest near Union City: M 2.5 on 19 September 2026.

USGS: 4 km ESE of Union City, California

in Union City, CA · 35 km (22 mi) NNW of San Jose, CA

10:29 am PDT, May 30, 2016 · 2016-05-30 17:29 UTC · 8.8 km deep · released about 260 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Union City Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area

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: 10:29 am PDT on 30 May 2016 (2016-05-30 17:29 UTC)
Where: 4 km (3 mi) ESE of Union City, CA · earthquakes near Union City
Magnitude: M 2.6 (md)
Depth: 8.8 km below the surface
Felt: 61 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Nearest: Alameda County, 9 km NE
Nearest mapped fault: Hayward fault, 3 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 3532 days ago · we first saw it 3532 days ago

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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Union City, 4 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Union City 4 km, intensity III · Fremont 4 km, intensity III · Newark 9 km, intensity III · Fairview 12 km, intensity II · Pleasanton 12 km, intensity II · Hayward 13 km, intensity II · Dublin 13 km, intensity II · Cherryland 15 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 260 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 59,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 42,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.7× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.6 about 260 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

6.2 Near San Jose, California · 35 km SSE of this epicentre Aug 3, 1903
6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 40 km SE of this epicentre Apr 24, 1984
6.1 Near San Jose, California · 46 km SSE of this epicentre Jun 11, 1903
5.8 7 km NNW of Boulder Creek, California · 47 km SSW of this epicentre Sep 5, 1955
5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 33 km NNE of this epicentre Jan 24, 1980

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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Alameda County, CA	9 km (5 mi)	NE	earthquakes near Alameda County
Contra Costa County, CA	37 km (23 mi)	N	earthquakes near Contra Costa County
San Mateo County, CA	40 km (25 mi)	WSW	earthquakes near San Mateo County
Santa Clara County, CA	48 km (30 mi)	SSE	earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Santa Cruz County, CA	64 km (40 mi)	S	earthquakes near Santa Cruz County
San Joaquin County, CA	73 km (45 mi)	ENE	earthquakes near San Joaquin County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

58 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

2.2 5 km ENE of East Foothills, California 10:59 UTC
1.8 3 km SE of Hayward, California 23:58 UTC
1.9 3 km N of Diablo, California 21:53 UTC
2.1 6 km NE of East Foothills, California 14:10 UTC
1.5 7 km NW of Livermore, California 10:52 UTC
2.1 8 km SSE of Sunol, California 05:19 UTC
1.5 1 km S of Alamo, California 08:03 UTC
1.6 2 km WNW of Los Altos Hills, California 20:30 UTC
2.0 2 km WSW of Blackhawk, California 14:58 UTC
1.8 3 km S of Loyola, California 17:34 UTC
1.6 2 km ENE of Pacifica, California 09:49 UTC
1.7 1 km NNW of Ashland, California 23:04 UTC
1.7 1 km SSE of Noe Valley, California 11:35 UTC
1.9 4 km SW of Dublin, California 01:36 UTC
2.6 2 km S of Diablo, California 10:28 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 09:20 UTC. 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.