Earthquake · automatic estimate, may change
M 2.4md
Earthquake near Hollister, CA
No earthquake was likely felt in Hollister in the 24 hours to 7:02 pm PDT (02:02 UTC). The last one was M 2.0, 14 km (9 mi) NE, at 9:47 am PDT on 20 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Hollister
This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Hollister, CA, at 3:27 pm PDT on 18 October 2026 (22:27 UTC), 8.9 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. The magnitude and location are an automatic first estimate and may change.
USGS: 4 km NNW of Hollister, CA
58 km (36 mi) SE of San Jose, CA · 20 km (13 mi) SE of Gilroy, CA
- When
- 3:27 pm PDT on 18 October 2026 ()
- Where
- 4 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Hollister, CA · earthquakes near Hollister
- Magnitude
- M 2.4 (md)
- Depth
- 8.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- San Benito County, 42 km SE
- Nearest mapped fault
- Calaveras fault, under 1 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
- Status
- Automatic — a machine’s first estimate, which may change
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Hollister, 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 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Hollister, 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: Hollister 4 km, intensity II · Ridgemark 9 km, intensity II · San Juan Bautista 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 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 92,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 8.2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 4.7 on 2019-10-15 — about 3,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 25 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.9 The 1989 Loma Prieta, California Earthquake · 45 km WNW of this epicentre
- 6.5 Near Morgan Hill, California · 32 km NW of this epicentre
- 6.1 Near San Jose, California · 49 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.9 10 km SE of Tres Pinos, California · 24 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.8 Near Watsonville, California · 27 km WNW 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 36.8847, -121.4128. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Benito County, CA | 42 km (26 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Benito County |
| Santa Clara County, CA | 45 km (28 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Santa Clara County |
| Santa Cruz County, CA | 55 km (34 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Santa Cruz County |
| Merced County, CA | 70 km (44 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Merced County |
| Monterey County, CA | 72 km (45 mi) | S | earthquakes near Monterey County |
| Stanislaus County, CA | 84 km (52 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Stanislaus County |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
2 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
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.
Revisions
USGS refines a solution as more stations report. Every change we have seen is listed here.
| What changed | From | To | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| reported intensity | not reported | 2 | |
| felt reports | not reported | 1 |
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.