M1.8 earthquake 33 km SSE of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, United States
A magnitude 1.8 earthquake struck 33 km SSE of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, United States at 20:18 local time (03:18 UTC) on 27 Oct 2026, at a depth of 5 km, according to USGS.
revised from M1.4
Data: USGS · updated 2026-10-28 16:14 UTC · reviewed
- Magnitude
- 1.8micro
local magnitude (Richter) (ml)
revised from 1.4 - Depth
- 4.5 km
- Status
- Reviewed
- Origin time
- 2026-10-28 03:18:10 UTC
- Local: 27 Oct 2026, 20:18:10 (America/Los Angeles)
- Epicentre
- 33.457° N, 118.271° W
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Rancho Palos VerdesCalifornia, United States · pop. 42,732 | 33 km | INot felt |
| Huntington BeachCalifornia, United States · pop. 201,899 | 34 km | INot felt |
| Seal BeachCalifornia, United States · pop. 24,619 | 35 km | INot felt |
| Long BeachCalifornia, United States · pop. 474,140 | 36 km | INot felt |
| IrvineCalifornia, United States · pop. 256,927 | 48 km | INot felt |
| Santa AnaCalifornia, United States · pop. 310,227 | 49 km | INot felt |
| AnaheimCalifornia, United States · pop. 350,742 | 54 km | INot felt |
| Los AngelesCalifornia, United States · pop. 3,820,914 | 66 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 1 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 | 1.8 mlwas 1.4 | 4.5 km | 33.46° N, 118.27° W | – | Reviewed · 1 revision |
How big was it?
Usually not felt. Recorded by nearby seismometers; thousands occur worldwide every day.
It released roughly the energy of 8 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 5 km this was a shallow earthquake, which is felt more strongly at the surface than a deeper one of the same size.
M1.8 releases about 16× the energy of M1.0, and its waves are about 6.5× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 8 kg of TNT vs 477 g of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M1.0. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
1 later earthquake within 30 km; the largest was M1.4 12 days ago. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Mainshock M1.8
1 later earthquake nearby. Aftershock rates typically fall off roughly as 1/time (Omori's law).
| Time after mainshock (hours) | Magnitude | Depth (km) |
|---|---|---|
| 81.59 | 1.4 | 7 |
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
Reports close 14 days after an earthquake.
Reports on SeismoAtlas
No reports yet.
Event id ci41568008. First recorded here 28 Oct 2026, 03:21:34 UTC. Solutions: USGS · CI (usgs:ci41568008). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M1.8 earthquake 33 km SSE of Rancho Palos Verdes, California, United States”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/ci41568008-m1-8-earthquake-33-km-sse-of-rancho-palos-verdes-california-united-states, data from USGS.
JSON: /api/v1/events/ci41568008. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.