On Thursday Afternoon a Shallow M4.0 AFTERSHOCK struck near Salinas in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on November 27th, 2025. Last updated December 14th, 2025.

Under land 11 miles from Salinas in The United States, a shallow M4.0 aftershock occurred in the early afternoon of Thursday November 27th, 2025. The earthquake struck near a very densely populated region. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 11 miles (17 km) north-east of Salinas in California. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 5 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Nov 27, 2025 12:57PM (Los Angeles Time) - Nov 27, 2025 20:57 Universal Time.
Location:	11 mi NE of Salinas, California, The United States. Coordinates 36°47'56"N 121°32'37"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.0 Detected by 62 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.2 .
Depth:	5 mi (8 km) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	V Moderate 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	This earthquake appears to have struck on land near a coastal area (14 mi from the sea).	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 4. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 5 mi (8 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 8 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 8 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.

An estimated 200,900 people were exposed to level IV. At this level, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. The majority of people (roughly 6.6 million) live in an area exposed to level II, where very weak shaking and no damage is expected.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
5,856,000	I	Not noticable	None
6,595,000	II	Very weak	None
1,042,000	III	Weak	Probably none
200,900	IV	Light	Likely none
0	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

This earthquake may have been felt in The United States . Prunedale in California, The United States is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 7 miles (12 km) east-northeast of Prunedale. The intensity of shaking and damage in Prunedale is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. San Jose is located 42 mi to the north-northwest and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Salinas is located 11 mi to the southwest and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). San Francisco is located 83 mi to the northwest and experienced an intensity of II (very weak shaking, no 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)
7 mi (12 km) WSW from epicenter	Prunedale California, The United States.	IV Light
9 mi (14 km) ENE from epicenter	Hollister California, The United States.	IV Light
11 mi (17 km) SW from epicenter	Salinas California, The United States.	IV Light
14 mi (23 km) WNW from epicenter	Watsonville California, The United States.	III Weak
14 mi (23 km) N from epicenter	Gilroy California, The United States.	IV Light
16 mi (26 km) WSW from epicenter	Marina California, The United States.	III Weak
22 mi (35 km) SW from epicenter	Seaside California, The United States.	III Weak
24 mi (38 km) NNW from epicenter	Morgan Hill California, The United States.	III Weak
24 mi (38 km) SW from epicenter	Monterey California, The United States.	II Weak
24 mi (39 km) WSW from epicenter	Pacific Grove California, The United States.	III Weak
27 mi (44 km) WNW from epicenter	Live Oak California, The United States.	III Weak
29 mi (46 km) SSE from epicenter	Soledad California, The United States.	II Weak
29 mi (47 km) WNW from epicenter	Santa Cruz California, The United States.	III Weak
37 mi (60 km) SSE from epicenter	Greenfield California, The United States.	II Weak
38 mi (61 km) NW from epicenter	Los Gatos California, The United States.	II Weak
40 mi (65 km) NW from epicenter	Campbell California, The United States.	II Weak
42 mi (67 km) NW from epicenter	Saratoga California, The United States.	II Weak
42 mi (68 km) ENE from epicenter	Los Banos California, The United States.	II Weak
42 mi (68 km) NNW from epicenter	Alum Rock California, The United States.	II Weak
42 mi (68 km) NNW from epicenter	San Jose California, The United States.	III Weak
45 mi (72 km) NNW from epicenter	Santa Clara California, The United States.	II Weak
45 mi (73 km) NW from epicenter	Cupertino California, The United States.	II Weak
48 mi (77 km) NNW from epicenter	Milpitas California, The United States.	II Weak
48 mi (77 km) NW from epicenter	Sunnyvale California, The United States.	II Weak
50 mi (81 km) NW from epicenter	Mountain View California, The United States.	II Weak
52 mi (83 km) NW from epicenter	Los Altos California, The United States.	II Weak
52 mi (83 km) NNE from epicenter	Patterson California, The United States.	II Weak
55 mi (89 km) NW from epicenter	Palo Alto California, The United States.	II Weak
57 mi (91 km) NW from epicenter	East Palo Alto California, The United States.	II Weak
57 mi (92 km) NNW from epicenter	Newark California, The United States.	II Weak
57 mi (92 km) NW from epicenter	Menlo Park California, The United States.	II Weak
57 mi (92 km) NNW from epicenter	Fremont California, The United States.	II Weak
61 mi (98 km) NNW from epicenter	Union City California, The United States.	II Weak
61 mi (98 km) NW from epicenter	Redwood City California, The United States.	II Weak
62 mi (99 km) NE from epicenter	Turlock California, The United States.	II Weak
62 mi (100 km) NNW from epicenter	Pleasanton California, The United States.	II Weak
62 mi (100 km) NNW from epicenter	Livermore California, The United States.	II Weak
65 mi (105 km) N from epicenter	Tracy California, The United States.	II Weak
65 mi (105 km) NNE from epicenter	Modesto California, The United States.	I Not felt
67 mi (108 km) NNW from epicenter	Hayward California, The United States.	II Weak
68 mi (110 km) ENE from epicenter	Merced California, The United States.	I Not felt
68 mi (110 km) NW from epicenter	San Mateo California, The United States.	II Weak
72 mi (116 km) NNW from epicenter	San Leandro California, The United States.	II Weak
80 mi (129 km) NNW from epicenter	Oakland California, The United States.	II Weak
81 mi (130 km) NW from epicenter	Daly City California, The United States.	II Weak
81 mi (131 km) N from epicenter	Stockton California, The United States.	I Not felt
83 mi (133 km) NW from epicenter	San Francisco California, The United States.	II Weak
85 mi (136 km) NNW from epicenter	Berkeley California, The United States.	I Not felt
86 mi (138 km) NNW from epicenter	Concord California, The United States.	I Not felt
98 mi (158 km) E from epicenter	Fresno California, The United States.	I Not felt
123 mi (198 km) N from epicenter	Sacramento California, The United States.	I Not felt

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is IV.

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.

This is likely an aftershock

This earthquake is likely an aftershock of the MAG-4 earthquake that struck 1 day earlier. That main earthquake hit 14 mi (23 km) north-northeast of the epicenter of this MAG-4.0 aftershock.

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
Foreshock	M 3.2	2 days earlier Nov 23, 2025 11:09PM (Los Angeles Time)	32 mi (51 km) SSE from Main Shock.
Main Shock	M 4.0	Nov 26, 2025 06:16AM (Los Angeles Time)	-
Aftershock	M 2.7	2 mins later Nov 26, 2025 06:18AM (Los Angeles Time)	0.4 mi (0.6 km) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.6	3 mins later Nov 26, 2025 06:20AM (Los Angeles Time)	0.3 mi (0.5 km) ENE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.7	1 day later Nov 27, 2025 12:10PM (Los Angeles Time)	14 mi (23 km) SSW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.7	1 day later Nov 27, 2025 12:48PM (Los Angeles Time)	14 mi (23 km) SSW from Main Shock.
Aftershock This Earthquake	M 4.0	1 day later Nov 27, 2025 12:57PM (Los Angeles Time)	14 mi (23 km) SSW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.2	2 days later Nov 28, 2025 07:40AM (Los Angeles Time)	12 mi (20 km) SSW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.5	2 days later Nov 28, 2025 07:40AM (Los Angeles Time)	12 mi (20 km) SSW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.5	2 days later Nov 28, 2025 07:42AM (Los Angeles Time)	12 mi (20 km) SSW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.8	3 days later Nov 28, 2025 11:47PM (Los Angeles Time)	12 mi (20 km) SSW from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this 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. In total, 103 earthquakes with a magnitude of 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 14/12/25 00:18 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.