Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5md
Earthquake near Diablo, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Diablo in the 24 hours to 8:07 am PST (16:07 UTC). The last one was M 2.5, 18 km (11 mi) NNW, at 1:23 am PST on 2 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 39 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Diablo
This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded in Diablo, CA, at 11:12 am PDT on 20 April 2020 (18:12 UTC), 11 km deep. 111 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 1km NNE of Diablo, CA
9 km (5 mi) NNW of San Ramon, CA · 42 km (26 mi) E of San Francisco, CA
- When
- 11:12 am PDT on 20 April 2020 ()
- Where
- in Diablo, CA · earthquakes near Diablo
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (md)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- 111 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Nearest
- Contra Costa County, 9 km N
- Nearest mapped fault
- Pleasanton fault, 5 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 2317 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Diablo, CA
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Diablo, 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 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Danville 5 km, intensity II · Alamo 7 km, intensity II · San Ramon 7 km, intensity II · Walnut Creek 12 km, intensity II · Pleasant Hill 15 km, intensity II · Lafayette 15 km, intensity II · Dublin 16 km, intensity II · Concord 16 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 870 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.8 The 1980 Livermore, California Earthquake · 16 km E of this epicentre
- 5.7 15 km NE of East Foothills, California · 47 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.5 6 km NNE of East Foothills, California · 48 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.4 9 km NE of Livermore, California · 24 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.1 11 km E of Blackhawk, California · 16 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 37.8430, -121.9533. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contra Costa County, CA | 9 km (5 mi) | N | earthquakes near Contra Costa County |
| Alameda County, CA | 22 km (14 mi) | S | earthquakes near Alameda County |
| Solano County, CA | 47 km (29 mi) | N | earthquakes near Solano County |
| San Mateo County, CA | 60 km (37 mi) | SW | earthquakes near San Mateo County |
| San Joaquin County, CA | 61 km (38 mi) | E | earthquakes near San Joaquin County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 73 km (45 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Santa Clara 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.
- 1.6 4km SSW of Newark, CA
- 2.6 6km SW of Clayton, CA
- 2.5 6km NE of Alamo, CA
- 1.6 5km E of Vallejo, CA
- 1.9 6km E of Fremont, CA
- 1.9 6km NE of Alamo, CA
- 1.6 3km ESE of Union City, CA
- 2.5 11km SSW of Brentwood, CA
- 2.0 3km SW of American Canyon, CA
- 2.6 11km ENE of Milpitas, CA
- 1.8 9km NNE of Milpitas, CA
- 2.2 10km NE of Milpitas, CA
- 2.3 9km NE of Blackhawk, CA
- 1.8 1km WNW of Kensington, CA
- 1.8 7km N of Orinda, 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.