Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.3md
Earthquake near Fresno, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Fresno in the 24 hours to 1:18 am PST (09:18 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 8 km (5 mi) ESE, at 8:23 am PST on 27 February 2025, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Fresno
This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 35 km (22 mi) south-southwest of Fresno, CA, at 5:17 pm PDT on 9 May 2019 (00:17 UTC), 13 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 2km N of Lanare, CA
38 km (24 mi) SSW of Fresno, CA · 29 km (18 mi) WNW of Hanford, CA
- When
- 5:17 pm PDT on 9 May 2019 ()
- Where
- 35 km (22 mi) south-southwest of Fresno, CA · earthquakes near Fresno
- Magnitude
- M 2.3 (md)
- Depth
- 13 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Fresno County, 42 km NE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2743 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Fresno, 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Fresno, 35 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Riverdale, Caruthers, Lemoore Station, Lemoore, Laton, Easton.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 77 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 140,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 12× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.3 about 77 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 4.0 on 2018-11-27 — about 390 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 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 42 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.6 8 km SW of Huron, California · 41 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.5 11 km NNE of Coalinga, California · 41 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.5 11 km NE of Coalinga, California · 41 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.4 11 km NNW of Coalinga, California · 50 km WSW 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 36.4592, -119.9313. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fresno County, CA | 42 km (26 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Fresno County |
| Kings County, CA | 44 km (27 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Kings County |
| Madera County, CA | 85 km (53 mi) | N | earthquakes near Madera County |
| San Benito County, CA | 105 km (65 mi) | W | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Tulare County, CA | 106 km (66 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Tulare County |
| Merced County, CA | 108 km (67 mi) | NW | earthquakes near Merced County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
50 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.9 5km ESE of Huron, CA
- 1.7 12km ENE of Coalinga, CA
- 1.6 11km NW of Avenal, CA
- 1.7 12km NNW of Avenal, CA
- 1.9 11km NNW of Kettleman City, CA
- 1.5 12km W of Huron, CA
- 2.2 13km WNW of Huron, CA
- 2.4 7km NNW of Biola, CA
- 2.5 6km N of Biola, CA
- 1.6 6km N of Avenal, CA
- 3.1 10km NW of Avenal, CA
- 2.0 14km NNE of Coalinga, CA
- 1.6 11km NW of Avenal, CA
- 1.6 11km NW of Avenal, CA
- 2.6 9km NW of Avenal, 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.