On Monday Afternoon a Shallow M4.4 Earthquake struck near Los Angeles in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on August 12th, 2024. Last updated September 17th, 2024.

A shallow Magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck under land 4 miles from Los Angeles in The United States around noon of Monday August 12th, 2024. The earthquake struck near a very densely populated region. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Another country near the epicenter is Mexico.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 4 miles (7 km) east-northeast of Los Angeles in California. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 7 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Aug 12, 2024 12:20PM (Los Angeles Time) - Aug 12, 2024 19:20 Universal Time.
Location:	4 mi ENE of Los Angeles, California, The United States. Coordinates 34°4'57"N 118°10'44"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.4 Detected by 39 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.2 .
Depth:	7 mi (11 km) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential tsunami risk The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Potential tsunami risk

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

There is a potential tsunami risk in the aftermath of this earthquake, immediately evacuate to higher grounds away from coastal areas and monitor advice from local authorities. The US Geographic Survey organization has indicated a potential risk for tsunami's following this earthquake.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	Not this earthquake. This earthquake appears to have struck on land far from any coast.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 4.4. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 7 mi (11 km). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 23 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 23 million have been exposed to shaking (An MMI or Modified Mercalli Intensity level II or higher) as a result of this earthquake according scientific estimates published by the USGS.

Moderate shaking and very light damage may have been experienced by an estimated 1,664,000 people. At V, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. Intensity level III was experienced by a large group of people (around 11 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Mexico .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
3,829,000	I	Not noticable	None
5,136,000	II	Very weak	None
11,340,000	III	Weak	Probably none
4,378,000	IV	Light	Likely none
1,664,000	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

The United States and Mexico are both located within 300km distance of the epicenter of the earthquake.

Alhambra in California, The United States is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 3 miles (5 km) west-southwest of Alhambra. The intensity of shaking and damage in Alhambra is estimated to be around level V on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (moderate shaking, very light damage).

Major cities near this earthquake: Los Angeles is located 4 mi to the west-southwest and experienced an intensity of V (moderate shaking, very light damage). Glendale is located 6 mi to the northwest and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). East Los Angeles is located 4 mi to the south and experienced an intensity of V (moderate shaking, very light damage).

The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake. Where available, the estimated intensity on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale in each place is included. Places where this information is omitted likely experienced little impact.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
3 mi (5 km) ENE from epicenter	Alhambra California, The United States.	V Moderate
3 mi (5 km) NE from epicenter	South Pasadena California, The United States.	V Moderate
4 mi (6 km) ESE from epicenter	Monterey Park California, The United States.	V Moderate
4 mi (6 km) SSW from epicenter	Boyle Heights California, The United States.	V Moderate
4 mi (7 km) ENE from epicenter	San Gabriel California, The United States.	V Moderate
4 mi (7 km) WSW from epicenter	Los Angeles California, The United States.	V Moderate
4 mi (7 km) S from epicenter	East Los Angeles California, The United States.	V Moderate
5 mi (8 km) NNE from epicenter	Pasadena California, The United States.	IV Light
5 mi (8 km) W from epicenter	Echo Park California, The United States.	V Moderate
5 mi (8 km) W from epicenter	Silver Lake California, The United States.	V Moderate
6 mi (10 km) NW from epicenter	Glendale California, The United States.	IV Light
6 mi (10 km) E from epicenter	Rosemead California, The United States.	IV Light
7 mi (11 km) S from epicenter	Maywood California, The United States.	V Moderate
7 mi (11 km) SE from epicenter	Montebello California, The United States.	V Moderate
7 mi (11 km) ENE from epicenter	Temple City California, The United States.	IV Light
7 mi (12 km) WSW from epicenter	Koreatown California, The United States.	IV Light
7 mi (12 km) SSW from epicenter	Huntington Park California, The United States.	V Moderate
7 mi (12 km) S from epicenter	Bell California, The United States.	V Moderate
8 mi (13 km) NNE from epicenter	Altadena California, The United States.	IV Light
8 mi (13 km) ESE from epicenter	South El Monte California, The United States.	IV Light
8 mi (13 km) S from epicenter	Bell Gardens California, The United States.	V Moderate
8 mi (13 km) SE from epicenter	Pico Rivera California, The United States.	V Moderate
8 mi (13 km) N from epicenter	La Cañada Flintridge California, The United States.	IV Light
9 mi (14 km) E from epicenter	El Monte California, The United States.	IV Light
9 mi (14 km) W from epicenter	Hollywood California, The United States.	IV Light
9 mi (14 km) S from epicenter	Cudahy California, The United States.	V Moderate
9 mi (14 km) SSW from epicenter	Florence-Graham California, The United States.	V Moderate
9 mi (15 km) ENE from epicenter	Arcadia California, The United States.	IV Light
9 mi (15 km) SSW from epicenter	South Gate California, The United States.	IV Light
10 mi (16 km) NW from epicenter	Burbank California, The United States.	IV Light
10 mi (16 km) SSE from epicenter	Downey California, The United States.	IV Light
11 mi (17 km) W from epicenter	West Hollywood California, The United States.	IV Light
11 mi (17 km) WNW from epicenter	Universal City California, The United States.	IV Light
11 mi (17 km) S from epicenter	Lynwood California, The United States.	V Moderate
11 mi (18 km) SE from epicenter	Whittier California, The United States.	IV Light
12 mi (20 km) E from epicenter	Baldwin Park California, The United States.	III Weak
12 mi (20 km) SE from epicenter	South Whittier California, The United States.	IV Light
13 mi (21 km) WNW from epicenter	North Hollywood California, The United States.	IV Light
13 mi (21 km) SW from epicenter	Inglewood California, The United States.	IV Light
13 mi (21 km) S from epicenter	Compton California, The United States.	V Moderate
14 mi (22 km) E from epicenter	West Covina California, The United States.	III Weak
14 mi (22 km) SSE from epicenter	Norwalk California, The United States.	IV Light
14 mi (23 km) SSE from epicenter	Bellflower California, The United States.	IV Light
15 mi (24 km) SW from epicenter	Hawthorne California, The United States.	IV Light
16 mi (26 km) S from epicenter	Lakewood California, The United States.	IV Light
17 mi (27 km) WNW from epicenter	Van Nuys California, The United States.	III Weak
19 mi (31 km) SSW from epicenter	Torrance California, The United States.	III Weak
21 mi (33 km) SE from epicenter	Fullerton California, The United States.	III Weak
22 mi (35 km) S from epicenter	Long Beach California, The United States.	III Weak
23 mi (37 km) SE from epicenter	Anaheim California, The United States.	III Weak
29 mi (47 km) SE from epicenter	Santa Ana California, The United States.	III Weak
207 km (129 mi) SSE from epicenter	Tijuana Baja California, Mexico.	I Not felt

Earthquake Intensity Map

The graph below overlays a map of the region around the epicenter with earthquake intensity data provided by the US Geographic Survey. The highest intensity level detected for this earthquake is V.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 1 person

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 1 person has reported shaking in one place in Mexico.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

Maneadero, Baja California, Mexico: 1 person.

2 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 2 smaller aftershocks. A 3.6 magnitude earthquake hit 3 days later 53 mi (85 km) east-southeast of this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 4.4	Aug 12, 2024 12:20PM (Los Angeles Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.6	3 days later Aug 15, 2024 09:39AM (Los Angeles Time)	53 mi (85 km) ESE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.0	3 days later Aug 15, 2024 09:40AM (Los Angeles Time)	53 mi (85 km) ESE from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since August 8th, 2024, when a 4.4 magnitude earthquake hit 87 mi (140 km) further northwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck on July 6th, 2019.

In total, 83 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.4 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every month.

Sources

Last updated 17/09/24 02:28 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.