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Significant Earthquakes Impacting
Los Angeles County

Earthquake Damage in Long Beach From the 1933 Earthquake

Earthquake damage in Long Beach from the 1933 Earthquake. Contributed by the Griffin Family, courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey.


NOTE: In the event of an earthquake, the safest place to be is not in a doorway, but under a table or desk.


Also see:
-- Probability of an Earthquake in the Los Angeles Region
-- Los Angeles is Moving.


Also see: Great Fort Tejon Earthquake, 1857

Earthquake, Mission Santa Cruz Church, 1857



Magnitude 4.9 or Larger

Year Date Location Time Richter Measure* Mercalli Measure Deaths & Property Damage
1769 Jul 28 Los Angeles Area --- 6.0 VIII No information
1812 Dec 8 Los Angeles Area 3:00pm 7.0 VII 40 deaths, Mission San Juan Capistrano severely to moderately damaged. Mission San Gabriel moderately damaged.
1827 Sep 24 Los Angeles Area 4:00am 5.5 VI No information
1855 Jul 11 Los Angeles Area 4:15am 6.0 VIII Bells of Mission San Gabriel torn down. 26 buildings damaged in L.A.
Year Date Location Time Richter Measure* Mercalli Measure Deaths & Property Damage
1857 Jan 9 Fort Tejon 4:24pm 7.9 IX 2 deaths; Severe property damage and loss. See Great Fort Tejon Earthquake, 1857.
1916 Oct 21 Tejon Pass Region 2:44pm 6.0 VII No information
1933 Mar 10 Long Beach 5:54pm 6.4 VIII 120 deaths; $40 million
1920 Jun 21 Inglewood 2:47am 4.9 VIII No deaths; $100,000+
Year Date Location Time Richter Measure* Mercalli Measure Deaths & Property Damage
1941 Nov 14 Torrance-Gardena 12:42am 5.1 VIII No deaths; $1.1 million
1951 Dec 26 San Clemente Island 12:46am 5.9 VI No deaths; No appreciable damage
1971 Feb 9 San Fernando 6:01am 6.6 XI 65 deaths; $505 million
1979 Jan 1 Malibu 3:15pm 5.2 VI No deaths; minor damage
Year Date Location Time Richter Measure* Mercalli Measure Deaths & Property Damage
1987 Oct 1 Whittier-Narrows 7:42am 5.9 VIII 8 deaths; $358 million
1988 Dec 3 Pasadena 11:38pm 5.0 VI No deaths; No appreciable damage
1989 Jan 19 Malibu 10:38pm 5.2 VI No deaths; slight damage
1990 Feb 8 Upland 4:43pm 5.8 VII No deaths; $12.7 million
Year Date Location Time Richter Measure* Mercalli Measure Deaths & Property Damage
1991 Jun 28 Sierra Madre 7:44am 5.8 VII 2 deaths; $40 million
1994 Jan 17 Northridge 4:31am 6.7 IX 61 deaths Est. $20 billion
2008 Jul 29 Chino Hills 4:04am 5.5 VI No deaths; moderate damage
2014 Mar 28 La Habra 9:09pm 5.1 VI No deaths; $10.8 million

* Richter Magnitude Scale
Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale


Relative Size of Largest Five Los Angeles County Earthquakes

Earthquakes, Los Angeles County

Relative size (amount of energy released) of L.A. County's largest earthquakes, from smallest in our list to largest, listing year and Richter Scale numbers (also shown in graphic for top five). Los Angeles Almanac chart.



Also see the Southern California Earthquake Center.


Earthquake Damage in Northridge, 1994
Probability of a Major Earthquake in the Los Angeles Region


About 30 earthquakes occur every day in Southern California. Most have a magnitude of less than 2.0 and are almost never felt.


No evidence exists that earthquakes are more likely to occur in certain kinds of weather. Statistically, earthquakes may occur in any kind of weather.


The best place to see any part of the monstrous, 800-mile San Andreas Fault is in Palmdale in a road cut along the Antelope Valley Freeway (Route 14) just north of Avenue S. The last time this part of the fault was active was in 1857.