M3.5 earthquake 31 km SW of Dana Point, California, United States
A magnitude 3.5 earthquake struck 31 km SW of Dana Point, California, United States at 13:22 local time (20:22 UTC) on 5 Oct 2026, at a depth of 11 km, according to USGS.
87 reports to USGS “Did You Feel It?”
Data: USGS · updated 2026-10-05 20:53 UTC · reviewed
- Magnitude
- 3.5minor
local magnitude (Richter) (ml) - Depth
- 11.3 km
- Status
- Reviewed
- Origin time
- 2026-10-05 20:22:30 UTC
- Local: 5 Oct 2026, 13:22:30 (America/Los Angeles)
- Epicentre
- 33.268° N, 117.931° W
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Circles show this event and others within 30 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Est. shaking |
|---|---|---|
| Dana PointCalifornia, United States · pop. 34,181 | 31 km | IIWeak |
| Laguna BeachCalifornia, United States · pop. 23,365 | 33 km | IIWeak |
| Laguna NiguelCalifornia, United States · pop. 65,806 | 35 km | IIWeak |
| San ClementeCalifornia, United States · pop. 65,526 | 35 km | IIWeak |
| IrvineCalifornia, United States · pop. 256,927 | 46 km | IIWeak |
| Santa AnaCalifornia, United States · pop. 310,227 | 54 km | INot felt |
| Long BeachCalifornia, United States · pop. 474,140 | 61 km | INot felt |
| AnaheimCalifornia, United States · pop. 350,742 | 64 km | INot felt |
Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more. Likely felt out to about 23 km.
Every agency's solution
Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses USGS · CI, which has been reviewed by an analyst.
| Agency | Magnitude | Depth | Epicentre | Time offset | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USGS · CIheadlineSouthern California Seismic Network via U.S. Geological Survey | 3.5 mlwas 3.7 | 11.3 km | 33.27° N, 117.93° W | – | Reviewed · 3 revisions |
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How big was it?
Often felt by people at rest close to the epicentre, rarely causes damage.
It released roughly the energy of 2.5 t of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 11 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.
M3.5 releases about 30× the energy of M2.5, and its waves are about 9.5× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 2.5 t of TNT vs 85 kg of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M2.5. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
2 later earthquakes within 30 km; the largest was M2.8 1 h 49 min ago. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Mainshock M3.5
2 later earthquakes nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).
| Time after mainshock (hours) | Magnitude | Depth (km) |
|---|---|---|
| 0.02 | 2.8 | 17 |
| 1.73 | 2.3 | 12 |
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
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Event id ci41343767. First recorded here 5 Oct 2026, 20:25:26 UTC. Solutions: USGS · CI (usgs:ci41343767). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M3.5 earthquake 31 km SW of Dana Point, California, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/ci41343767-m3-5-earthquake-31-km-sw-of-dana-point-california-united-states, data from USGS.
JSON: /api/v1/events/ci41343767. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.