Earthquake near Hayward, CA

Yes. A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) SE of Hayward, CA, at 4:58 pm PDT on 3 September 2016 (23:58 UTC), 3.3 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

This was on 3 September 2016. The latest near Hayward: M 2.5 on 19 September 2026.

USGS: 3 km SE of Hayward, California

in Hayward, CA

4:58 pm PDT, Sep 3, 2016 · 2016-09-03 23:58 UTC · 3.3 km deep · released about 16 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hayward 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: 4:58 pm PDT on 3 September 2016 (2016-09-03 23:58 UTC)
Where: 4 km (2 mi) SE of Hayward, CA · earthquakes near Hayward
Magnitude: M 1.8 (md)
Depth: 3.3 km below the surface
Felt: 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest: Alameda County, 12 km E
Nearest mapped fault: Hayward 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 3531 days ago · we first saw it 3531 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Hayward, 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: Hayward 4 km, intensity II · Fairview 4 km, intensity II · Cherryland 6 km, intensity II · Union City 6 km, intensity II · Castro Valley 6 km, intensity II · Ashland 8 km, intensity II · San Lorenzo 8 km, intensity II · Fremont 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 16 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 970,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 680,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 61× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

7.9 The 1906 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 45 km WNW of this epicentre Apr 18, 1906
6.2 Near San Jose, California · 44 km SSE of this epicentre Aug 3, 1903
6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 50 km SE of this epicentre Apr 24, 1984
5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 33 km NE of this epicentre Jan 24, 1980
5.7 15 km NE of East Foothills, California · 37 km ESE of this epicentre Mar 31, 1986

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	12 km (8 mi)	E	earthquakes near Alameda County
Contra Costa County, CA	32 km (20 mi)	NNE	earthquakes near Contra Costa County
San Mateo County, CA	38 km (24 mi)	SW	earthquakes near San Mateo County
Santa Clara County, CA	57 km (35 mi)	SE	earthquakes near Santa Clara County
Solano County, CA	70 km (44 mi)	N	earthquakes near Solano County
Santa Cruz County, CA	70 km (44 mi)	S	earthquakes near Santa Cruz County

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

Aftershocks so far

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

2.0 3 km S of Loyola, California 19:34 UTC
1.6 11 km W of Saratoga, California 18:45 UTC
1.6 9 km NNE of East Foothills, California 11:33 UTC
1.6 3 km S of Loyola, California 20:01 UTC
1.8 3 km W of Orinda, California 01:48 UTC
2.0 3 km W of Orinda, California 01:26 UTC
1.8 2 km NE of Pacifica, California 15:45 UTC
1.8 5 km ENE of Chinatown, California 18:22 UTC
1.6 2 km S of Loyola, California 18:00 UTC
1.5 2 km N of Piedmont, California 19:34 UTC
2.1 6 km S of Sunol, California 17:06 UTC
2.2 7 km E of Blackhawk, California 04:34 UTC
1.8 10 km NW of Broadmoor, California 22:48 UTC
1.6 1 km ESE of Pacheco, California 05:54 UTC
1.5 5 km E of Alameda, California 01:54 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 10:02 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.