On Monday Afternoon a Shallow M4.9 Earthquake struck near Indio in The United States.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on January 20th, 2026.

In the late afternoon of Monday January 19th, 2026, a shallow MAG-4.9 earthquake hit under land 12 miles from Indio in The United States. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 20 million people. Another country near the epicenter is Mexico.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in The United States, 12 miles (19 km) north-northeast of Indio in California. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 2 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jan 19, 2026 05:56PM (Los Angeles Time) - Jan 20, 2026 01:56 Universal Time.
Location:	12 mi NNE of Indio, California, The United States. Coordinates 33°53'31"N 116°10'16"W.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 4.9 Detected by 39 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.2 .
Depth:	2 mi (3 km) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

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 20 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 20 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is V, which corresponds with moderate shaking and very light damage. Roughly 10,890 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 12 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
13,680	I	Not noticable	None
8,261,000	II	Very weak	None
11,760,000	III	Weak	Probably none
442,500	IV	Light	Likely none
10,890	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 struck within proximity of multiple countries. The United States and Mexico are both within 300km distance of its epicenter.

The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Indio in California, The United States. Indio is located 12 miles (19 km) north-northeast of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Indio 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. Los Angeles is located 119 mi to the west and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). San Diego is located 99 mi to the southwest and experienced an intensity of III (weak shaking, probably no damage). Tijuana is located 173 km to the south-southwest and experienced an intensity of II (very weak shaking, no damage).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
12 mi (19 km) SSW from epicenter	Indio California, The United States.	IV Light
15 mi (24 km) S from epicenter	Coachella California, The United States.	IV Light
17 mi (27 km) SW from epicenter	Palm Desert California, The United States.	IV Light
17 mi (28 km) SW from epicenter	Rancho Mirage California, The United States.	IV Light
17 mi (28 km) SSW from epicenter	La Quinta California, The United States.	IV Light
18 mi (29 km) NNE from epicenter	Twentynine Palms California, The United States.	IV Light
19 mi (30 km) WSW from epicenter	Cathedral City California, The United States.	IV Light
20 mi (32 km) WNW from epicenter	Desert Hot Springs California, The United States.	IV Light
22 mi (35 km) NW from epicenter	Yucca Valley California, The United States.	III Weak
22 mi (35 km) WSW from epicenter	Palm Springs California, The United States.	IV Light
40 mi (65 km) W from epicenter	Banning California, The United States.	III Weak
45 mi (73 km) WSW from epicenter	East Hemet California, The United States.	III Weak
46 mi (74 km) W from epicenter	San Jacinto California, The United States.	III Weak
47 mi (75 km) W from epicenter	Beaumont California, The United States.	III Weak
47 mi (76 km) WSW from epicenter	Hemet California, The United States.	III Weak
51 mi (82 km) W from epicenter	Yucaipa California, The United States.	II Weak
57 mi (92 km) WSW from epicenter	Menifee California, The United States.	III Weak
59 mi (95 km) W from epicenter	Redlands California, The United States.	III Weak
60 mi (97 km) WSW from epicenter	Sun City California, The United States.	III Weak
61 mi (98 km) W from epicenter	Moreno Valley California, The United States.	III Weak
61 mi (98 km) W from epicenter	Perris California, The United States.	III Weak
62 mi (99 km) WNW from epicenter	Highland California, The United States.	II Weak
63 mi (101 km) WSW from epicenter	Temecula California, The United States.	III Weak
65 mi (104 km) WSW from epicenter	Murrieta California, The United States.	III Weak
66 mi (106 km) WNW from epicenter	San Bernardino California, The United States.	III Weak
70 mi (113 km) WNW from epicenter	Rialto California, The United States.	III Weak
70 mi (113 km) W from epicenter	Riverside California, The United States.	III Weak
74 mi (119 km) W from epicenter	Fontana California, The United States.	III Weak
75 mi (120 km) WNW from epicenter	Hesperia California, The United States.	III Weak
75 mi (121 km) SW from epicenter	Escondido California, The United States.	III Weak
77 mi (124 km) SW from epicenter	San Marcos California, The United States.	II Weak
78 mi (125 km) NW from epicenter	Victorville California, The United States.	II Weak
78 mi (126 km) SW from epicenter	Vista California, The United States.	II Weak
80 mi (129 km) W from epicenter	Corona California, The United States.	III Weak
83 mi (133 km) W from epicenter	Rancho Cucamonga California, The United States.	III Weak
85 mi (136 km) SW from epicenter	Oceanside California, The United States.	II Weak
85 mi (136 km) SW from epicenter	Carlsbad California, The United States.	II Weak
86 mi (138 km) W from epicenter	Ontario California, The United States.	III Weak
91 mi (147 km) W from epicenter	Pomona California, The United States.	III Weak
96 mi (155 km) W from epicenter	Irvine California, The United States.	III Weak
97 mi (156 km) W from epicenter	Orange California, The United States.	III Weak
156 km (97 mi) SSE from epicenter	Mexicali Baja California, Mexico.	III Weak
98 mi (158 km) W from epicenter	Santa Ana California, The United States.	III Weak
99 mi (160 km) SW from epicenter	San Diego California, The United States.	III Weak
100 mi (161 km) W from epicenter	Anaheim California, The United States.	III Weak
101 mi (163 km) SSW from epicenter	Chula Vista California, The United States.	III Weak
102 mi (164 km) W from epicenter	Garden Grove California, The United States.	III Weak
106 mi (171 km) W from epicenter	Huntington Beach California, The United States.	III Weak
173 km (107 mi) SSW from epicenter	Tijuana Baja California, Mexico.	II Weak
116 mi (187 km) W from epicenter	Long Beach California, The United States.	II Weak
119 mi (192 km) W from epicenter	Los Angeles California, The United States.	III Weak
121 mi (194 km) SE from epicenter	Yuma Arizona, The United States.	II Weak
206 km (128 mi) SE from epicenter	San Luis Río Colorado Sonora, Mexico.	II Weak
168 mi (271 km) NNE from epicenter	Las Vegas Nevada, The United States.

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 2 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 2 people have 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:

Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico: 2 people.

10 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 10 smaller aftershocks. A 3.7 magnitude earthquake hit 6 hrs later 0.6 mi (1 km) north-northwest of this earthquake.

In the days before this main shock, 1 smaller foreshock was detected. Roughly 2 days before this earthquake, a foreshock measuring MAG-2.8 was detected nearby 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
Foreshock	M 2.8	2 days earlier Jan 18, 2026 03:42AM (Los Angeles Time)	53 mi (85 km) SSE from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 4.9	Jan 19, 2026 05:56PM (Los Angeles Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.3	1 min later Jan 19, 2026 05:57PM (Los Angeles Time)	0.7 mi (1.1 km) NNW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.4	2 mins later Jan 19, 2026 05:57PM (Los Angeles Time)	0.7 mi (1.1 km) NE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.9	3 mins later Jan 19, 2026 05:59PM (Los Angeles Time)	0.6 mi (1 km) NNE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.0	31 mins later Jan 19, 2026 06:27PM (Los Angeles Time)	0.3 mi (0.5 km) WNW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.5	55 mins later Jan 19, 2026 06:50PM (Los Angeles Time)	1.9 mi (3 km) S from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.2	3 hrs later Jan 19, 2026 08:57PM (Los Angeles Time)	1.3 mi (2.1 km) SW from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.6	4 hrs later Jan 19, 2026 09:31PM (Los Angeles Time)	0.7 mi (1.1 km) N from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.7	5 hrs later Jan 19, 2026 11:02PM (Los Angeles Time)	0.8 mi (1.3 km) E from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 2.7	5 hrs later Jan 19, 2026 11:18PM (Los Angeles Time)	1.4 mi (2.3 km) S from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.7	6 hrs later Jan 20, 2026 12:20AM (Los Angeles Time)	0.6 mi (1 km) NNW from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

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 April 14th, 2025, when a 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit 64 mi (103 km) further south-southwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck on July 6th, 2019.

In total, 23 earthquakes with a magnitude of 4.9 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 5 months.

Tsunami very unlikely

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.

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

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 4.9. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 2 mi (3 km). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 20/01/26 12:18 (). 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.