Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Hayward, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Hayward in the 24 hours to 3:34 am PST (11:34 UTC). The last one was M 1.9, 9 km (6 mi) E, at 10:32 am PST on 2 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Hayward
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) southeast of Hayward, CA, at 8:48 pm PST on 25 January 2020 (04:48 UTC), 2.2 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 3km ESE of Hayward, CA
5 km (3 mi) E of Hayward, CA · in Union City, CA
- When
- 8:48 pm PST on 25 January 2020 ()
- Where
- 5 km (3 mi) southeast of Hayward, CA · earthquakes near Hayward
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 2.2 km below the surface
- Felt
- 2 reports · 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 · we first saw it 2471 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Hayward, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Hayward, 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 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Hayward, 5 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: Union City 5 km, intensity II · Hayward 5 km, intensity II · Castro Valley 8 km, intensity II · San Lorenzo 9 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 6.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,200,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.8 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 4.5 on 2019-10-15 — about 22,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.9 The 1906 San Francisco, California Earthquake · 46 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.2 Near San Jose, California · 43 km SSE of this epicentre
- 6.2 The 1984 Morgan Hill, California Earthquake · 48 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 33 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.7 15 km NE of East Foothills, California · 36 km ESE 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 37.6355, -122.0435. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda County, CA | 12 km (7 mi) | E | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Contra Costa County, CA | 33 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 | 56 km (35 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 69 km (43 mi) | S | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Solano County, CA | 71 km (44 mi) | N | earthquakes near Solano 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.
- 1.5 8km WSW of Mountain House, CA
- 2.1 8km WSW of Mountain House, CA
- 1.9 8km SW of Brentwood, CA
- 1.6 5km W of San Francisco Zoo, CA
- 1.6 5km W of San Francisco Zoo, CA
- 2.0 9km WSW of Mountain House, CA
- 2.0 7km SE of Blackhawk, CA
- 1.8 8km ESE of Blackhawk, CA
- 1.7 10km SW of Brentwood, CA
- 1.7 9km WSW of Mountain House, CA
- 1.7 4km NW of Orinda, CA
- 2.0 13km ESE of Alum Rock, CA
- 1.5 4km NNE of Fairview, CA
- 1.5 2km E of Berkeley, CA
- 1.5 19km SSE of Livermore, 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.