Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near Piedmont, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Piedmont in the 24 hours to 5:33 am PST (13:33 UTC). The last one was M 2.6, 5 km (3 mi) NNW, at 6:23 pm PST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 114 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Piedmont
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Piedmont, CA, at 4:45 am PST on 16 January 2019 (12:45 UTC), 11 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3km NNW of Piedmont, CA
9 km (6 mi) N of Oakland, CA · 5 km (3 mi) ESE of Berkeley, CA
- When
- 4:45 am PST on 16 January 2019 ()
- Where
- 3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Piedmont, CA · earthquakes near Piedmont
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity I
- Nearest
- Contra Costa County, 26 km ENE
- 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 · we first saw it 2793 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Piedmont, CA
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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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Piedmont, 3 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: Berkeley 3 km, intensity II · Orinda 6 km, intensity II · Oakland 6 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 17 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 5.8 900,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 640,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 57× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 4.4 on 2018-01-04 — about 6,700 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.9 The 1906 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 29 km WSW of this epicentre
- 6.0 The 2014 South Napa, California Earthquake · 41 km N of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 42 km E of this epicentre
- 5.4 9 km NE of Livermore, California · 48 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.3 The 1957 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 30 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 37.8530, -122.2407. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contra Costa County, CA | 26 km (16 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Alameda County, CA | 37 km (23 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Marin County, CA | 50 km (31 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Marin County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 50 km (31 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| Solano County, CA | 53 km (33 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Solano County |
| San Francisco County, CA | 71 km (44 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Francisco County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
53 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.0 5km N of San Leandro, CA
- 1.8 3km S of Alamo, CA
- 1.7 4km ESE of American Canyon, CA
- 3.4 2km NE of Pacheco, CA
- 1.5 2km W of Crockett, CA
- 1.9 4km NE of Vallejo, CA
- 2.0 6km WSW of Colma, CA
- 1.5 3km ESE of Rodeo, CA
- 1.5 12km E of Blackhawk, CA
- 2.6 4km ESE of Oakland, CA
- 2.9 3km ESE of Berkeley, CA
- 1.5 3km ENE of Oakland, CA
- 2.5 10km ESE of Black Point-Green Point, CA
- 1.9 10km ESE of Black Point-Green Point, CA
- 2.9 4km N of Rodeo, 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.