On Tuesday Afternoon a Shallow M4.4 Earthquake struck near Ukiah in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on January 13th, 2026. Last updated January 19th, 2026.

Under land 17 miles from Ukiah in The United States, a shallow MAG-4.4 earthquake occurred in the early afternoon of Tuesday January 13th, 2026. 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, 17 miles (27 km) north of Ukiah 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:	Jan 13, 2026 01:10PM (Los Angeles Time) - Jan 13, 2026 21:10 Universal Time.
Location:	17 mi north of Ukiah, California, The United States. Coordinates 39°23'32"N 123°15'5"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.4 Detected by 92 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.2 .
Depth:	5 mi (9 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	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 5 mi (9 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 69% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 98% 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 0.9 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 0.9 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

Moderate shaking and very light damage may have been experienced by an estimated 1,180 people. At V, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. Intensity level I was experienced by the majority of people (around 9 million). In their region, not noticeable and no damage can be expected.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
9,117,000	I	Not noticable	None
761,900	II	Very weak	None
82,510	III	Weak	Probably none
22,000	IV	Light	Likely none
1,180	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 . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Ukiah in California, The United States. Ukiah is located 17 miles (27 km) north of the epicenter. Ukiah experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly III. That level implies weak shaking and probably no damage.

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. San Francisco is located 121 mi to the south-southeast and experienced an intensity of I (not noticeable, no damage). San Jose is located 160 mi to the south-southeast (intensity unknown, possibly low). Sacramento is located 110 mi to the east-southeast and experienced an intensity of I (not noticeable, 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)
17 mi (27 km) S from epicenter	Ukiah California, The United States.	III Weak
45 mi (72 km) SE from epicenter	Clearlake California, The United States.	II Weak
63 mi (101 km) SSE from epicenter	Windsor California, The United States.	II Weak
72 mi (116 km) SSE from epicenter	Santa Rosa California, The United States.	I Not felt
78 mi (126 km) SSE from epicenter	Rohnert Park California, The United States.	I Not felt
79 mi (127 km) ENE from epicenter	Chico California, The United States.	II Weak
87 mi (140 km) SSE from epicenter	Petaluma California, The United States.	I Not felt
89 mi (143 km) E from epicenter	Yuba City California, The United States.	II Weak
91 mi (146 km) ENE from epicenter	Paradise California, The United States.	I Not felt
92 mi (148 km) SE from epicenter	Napa California, The United States.	I Not felt
93 mi (150 km) ESE from epicenter	Woodland California, The United States.	I Not felt
94 mi (152 km) NNE from epicenter	Redding California, The United States.	I Not felt
96 mi (155 km) SSE from epicenter	Novato California, The United States.	I Not felt
99 mi (159 km) SE from epicenter	Vacaville California, The United States.	I Not felt
100 mi (161 km) SE from epicenter	Davis California, The United States.	I Not felt
103 mi (165 km) SE from epicenter	Fairfield California, The United States.	I Not felt
104 mi (167 km) SSE from epicenter	Vallejo California, The United States.	I Not felt
106 mi (170 km) SSE from epicenter	San Rafael California, The United States.	I Not felt
108 mi (174 km) ESE from epicenter	West Sacramento California, The United States.	I Not felt
110 mi (177 km) ESE from epicenter	Sacramento California, The United States.	I Not felt
111 mi (178 km) ESE from epicenter	Lincoln California, The United States.	I Not felt
112 mi (180 km) SSE from epicenter	Richmond California, The United States.	I Not felt
112 mi (180 km) ESE from epicenter	North Highlands California, The United States.	I Not felt
114 mi (183 km) ESE from epicenter	Antelope California, The United States.	I Not felt
114 mi (184 km) ESE from epicenter	Roseville California, The United States.	I Not felt
114 mi (184 km) ESE from epicenter	Arden-Arcade California, The United States.	I Not felt
116 mi (186 km) ESE from epicenter	Citrus Heights California, The United States.	I Not felt
116 mi (186 km) ESE from epicenter	Rocklin California, The United States.	I Not felt
116 mi (187 km) ESE from epicenter	Carmichael California, The United States.	I Not felt
117 mi (188 km) ESE from epicenter	Florin California, The United States.	I Not felt
117 mi (189 km) SSE from epicenter	Berkeley California, The United States.	I Not felt
118 mi (190 km) SE from epicenter	Concord California, The United States.	I Not felt
119 mi (191 km) SE from epicenter	Laguna California, The United States.	I Not felt
119 mi (191 km) ESE from epicenter	Rancho Cordova California, The United States.	I Not felt
119 mi (192 km) SSE from epicenter	Chinatown California, The United States.	I Not felt
120 mi (193 km) SE from epicenter	Pittsburg California, The United States.	I Not felt
121 mi (194 km) SSE from epicenter	San Francisco California, The United States.	I Not felt
121 mi (195 km) SSE from epicenter	Mission District California, The United States.	I Not felt
121 mi (195 km) SSE from epicenter	Walnut Creek California, The United States.	I Not felt
122 mi (196 km) SSE from epicenter	Oakland California, The United States.	I Not felt
122 mi (196 km) ESE from epicenter	Folsom California, The United States.	I Not felt
122 mi (196 km) ESE from epicenter	Elk Grove California, The United States.	I Not felt
124 mi (199 km) SE from epicenter	Antioch California, The United States.	I Not felt
124 mi (200 km) SSE from epicenter	Alameda California, The United States.	I Not felt
124 mi (200 km) SSE from epicenter	Daly City California, The United States.	I Not felt
135 mi (217 km) SSE from epicenter	Hayward California, The United States.	I Not felt
145 mi (233 km) SSE from epicenter	Fremont California, The United States.
145 mi (233 km) SE from epicenter	Stockton California, The United States.	I Not felt
160 mi (257 km) SSE from epicenter	San Jose California, The United States.
172 mi (277 km) SE from epicenter	Modesto California, The United States.	I Not felt
183 mi (295 km) E from epicenter	Reno Nevada, The United States.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The maximum intensity (MMI Scale) caused by this earthquake is V. The map below shows in which areas this earthquake was the most and least impactful. It is based on data from the US Geographic Survey.

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.

2 Aftershocks detected

After this earthquake struck, 2 smaller aftershocks occurred. At a distance of 1.7 mi (2.7 km) south-east of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 2 hrs later. It measured a magnitude of 3.8

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	Jan 13, 2026 01:10PM (Los Angeles Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.8	2 hrs later Jan 13, 2026 02:51PM (Los Angeles Time)	1.7 mi (2.7 km) SE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.9	8 hrs later Jan 13, 2026 08:42PM (Los Angeles Time)	26 mi (42 km) N 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. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since December 31st, 2025, when a 4.9 magnitude earthquake hit 157 mi (253 km) further east-northeast. An even stronger magnitude 7 earthquake struck on December 5th, 2024.

In total, 76 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 2 months.

Sources

Last updated 19/01/26 23:58 (). 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.