M3.2 earthquake near Signal Hill, California, United States
A magnitude 3.2 earthquake struck near Signal Hill, California, United States at 00:44 local time (07:44 UTC) on 9 Oct 2026, at a depth of 12 km, according to USGS. The solution is preliminary and may be revised.
Data: USGS · updated 2026-10-09 07:46 UTC · automatic solution
- Magnitude
- 3.2minor
local magnitude (Richter) (ml) - Depth
- 12.3 km
- Status
- Automatic
- Origin time
- 2026-10-09 07:44:17 UTC
- Local: 9 Oct 2026, 00:44:17 (America/Los Angeles)
- Epicentre
- 33.792° N, 118.180° W
Advertisement
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Signal HillCalifornia, United States · pop. 11,565 | 1 km | IIIWeak |
| Long BeachCalifornia, United States · pop. 474,140 | 3 km | IIIWeak |
| LakewoodCalifornia, United States · pop. 81,611 | 8 km | IIIWeak |
| Seal BeachCalifornia, United States · pop. 24,619 | 9 km | IIIWeak |
| CarsonCalifornia, United States · pop. 93,281 | 10 km | IIIWeak |
| AnaheimCalifornia, United States · pop. 350,742 | 26 km | IIWeak |
| Santa AnaCalifornia, United States · pop. 310,227 | 29 km | IIWeak |
| Los AngelesCalifornia, United States · pop. 3,820,914 | 29 km | IIWeak |
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 15 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.
| Agency | Magnitude | Depth | Epicentre | Time offset | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USGS · CIheadlineSouthern California Seismic Network via U.S. Geological Survey | 3.2 ml | 12.3 km | 33.79° N, 118.18° W | – | Automatic |
Advertisement
How big was it?
Often felt by people at rest close to the epicentre, rarely causes damage.
It released roughly the energy of 921 kg 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 12 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.
M3.2 releases about 31× the energy of M2.2, and its waves are about 9.8× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 921 kg of TNT vs 30 kg of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M2.2. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
No later earthquakes have been recorded within 30 km so far. 2 in the 7 days before. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
Reports on SeismoAtlas
No reports yet.
Advertisement
Event id ci41345415. First recorded here 9 Oct 2026, 07:47:39 UTC. Solutions: USGS · CI (usgs:ci41345415). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M3.2 earthquake near Signal Hill, California, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/ci41345415-m3-2-earthquake-near-signal-hill-california-united-states, data from USGS.
JSON: /api/v1/events/ci41345415. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.