I felt this quake
A light magnitude 3.4 earthquake hit 10.1 km (6 mi) away from El Centro, California, United States, in the early morning of Thursday, Jan 15, 2026 at 1.40 am local time (GMT -8). The quake had a very shallow depth of 15.5 km (10 mi) and was felt widely in the area.
Light magnitude 3.4 earthquake at 16 km depth
15 Jan 09:42 UTC: First to report: EMSC after 2 minutes.15 Jan 09:43: Now using data updates from USGS15 Jan 17:18: Magnitude recalculated from 3.5 to 3.4. Epicenter location corrected by 0.7 km (0.4 mi) towards SE.
Earthquake details
| Date & time | Jan 15, 2026 09:40:11 UTC - 3 days ago |
| Local time at epicenter | Thursday, Jan 15, 2026, at 01:40 am (GMT -8) |
| Quality | 59 seismic stations |
| Shaking intensity | III Weak shaking near epicenter |
| Weather at epicenter at time of quake | Clear Sky 12.6°C (55 F), humidity: 41%, wind: 0 m/s (0 kts) |
| Estimated seismic energy released | 7.9 x 109 joules (2.21 megawatt hours, equivalent to 1.9 tons of TNT) | equivalent to ONE quake of magnitude 3.4 | about seismic energy |
Ground shaking from this quake
Nearby places
The closest larger town where the quake might have been felt is Mexicali, a city of 1 million people in Mexico, in 18.4 km (11 mi) distance south of the epicenter. People likely experienced weak shaking there. Several smaller towns and villages are located closer to the epicenter and might have experienced stronger shaking.The following table shows some of the places that might have been affected (or not) by the shaking.
| Max. shaking intensity(*) |
User-reports for this quake (39)
So far, we have received 39 reports for this quake from Mexico and United States. Out of these, 33 people indicated they felt it. The quake was reported to have been felt in up to approx. 60–170 km (37–106 mi) distance, with isolated cases to have felt the quake even 380 km (236 mi) away.
The majority of reports came from Mexicali (7 reports), a city of 1 million people in Estado de Baja California in 18.4 km (11 mi) distance south of the epicenter, Mexico, Yuma (3 reports), a town with 96,000 inhabitants in Arizona in 78 km (49 mi) distance east of the epicenter, United States, and Indio (3 reports) (125 km or 78 mi to the northwest) in California. See the list of places where most people reported this quake further below. This section is being updated as new data comes in.
Translate
Yuma az (160.1 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : I live in a park model trailer in a trailer park. It shook my bed and I thought somebody had come in my house and jumped on my bed. Scared the heck out of me. | One user found this interesting.
Fortuna Foothills, Yuma, Arizona (95.7 km E of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : My trailer moved eastward and then westward for about 3 seconds in yuma az on 1-15-2028 at about 2:54am. I've felt no other movement.
Broadway ave ,El CENTRO CA 92243 (9.6 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / vibration and rolling / 2-5 s : Temblor que empezó débil a muy fuerte vibratorio y potente sacudió paredes y pisos pero fue corto de 2 a 5 segundos
Yuma, AZ (77.7 km E of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s : Loud rattling thunder-like sound | One user found this interesting.
Yuma, AZ (81.9 km E of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 10-15 s : it scared the heck outta me i was also watching a scary movie and its 2am | One user found this interesting.
mexicali (21 km S of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s
yuma az (95.4 km E of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s : my bed moved but the earthquake was felt at about 2:58 am
Mexicali (22.1 km SSE of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging
85367 (78 km E of epicenter) [Map] / not felt
Imperial (125.1 km NW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake
Avenue B and C, Yuma, Arizona (74.7 km E of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s
Santee (172.8 km WNW of epicenter) [Map] / not felt
Sleeping (12.6 km S of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / complex motion difficult to describe / 5-10 s
San Luis, AZ (71.7 km ESE of epicenter) [Map] / Very weak shaking (MMI II) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s
Yuma, AZ (379.9 km N of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 20-30 s
Avenue B and C, Yuma, Arizona (74.8 km E of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 2-5 s
Imperial (125.2 km NW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake
Imperial beach (156.9 km W of epicenter) [Map] / not felt
Mexicali (18.3 km S of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / complex motion difficult to describe / 20-30 s
Mexicali (16.6 km SSE of epicenter) [Map] / not felt / 1-2 s
San Luis Río Colorado (74.4 km ESE of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / horizontal (sideways) swinging / 5-10 s
Imperial (125.1 km NW of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / single lateral shake
El Centro, Imperial, California (10.7 km W of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / rattling, vibrating / very short
Mexicali (18.5 km S of epicenter) [Map] / Weak shaking (MMI III) / rattling, vibrating / 2-5 s
Mexicali (22.1 km SSE of epicenter) [Map] / Light shaking (MMI IV) / horizontal (sideways) swinging
mexicali (21 km S of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 10-15 s
Mexicali, Baja California (21.9 km S of epicenter) [Map] / not felt (reported through our app)
Mexicali (21 km S of epicenter) [Map] / Moderate shaking (MMI V) / 5-10 s
| Place | Distance from epicenter | Average reported Shaking Intensity | Nr. of reports |
|---|
The amount of shaking that occurs on the surface due to an earthquake is called the intensity. It is commonly measured on the so-called Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale (MMI) ranging from 1 (not felt) to 10 (extreme shaking), and given in Roman numerals as I,II,...IX, X, and often displayed with color codes ranging from light blue to dark red.Earthquake intensity depends mainly on the magnitude and depth of the quake as well as the distance from the epicenter: The further away, the less shaking intensity occurs.Read more about the MMI scale!
| Shaking intensity | Number of reports | Min-Max distance from epicenter (*) | Average distance (*) |
|---|
| I: Not felt | 6 | 13.7–173 km (8.5–107 mi) | 77 km (48 mi) |
| II: Very weak shaking | 5 | 12.2–173 km (7.6–107 mi) | 58 km (36 mi) |
| III: Weak shaking | 3 | 18.4–22 km (11.4–13.9 mi) | 19.7 km (12 mi) |
| IV: Light shaking | 5 | 10.7–22 km (6.7–13.7 mi) | 17.1 km (11 mi) |
If you were near the epicenter and felt it, please share your experience and submit a short "I felt it" report! Other users would love to hear about it!If you did NOT feel the quake although you were in the area, please report it as well! Your contribution is valuable to earthquake science and seismic hazard analysis.
Compare Quake Data
The more agencies report about the same quake and post similar data, the more confidence you can have in the data. It takes normally up to a few hours until earthquake parameters are calculated with near-optimum precision.
| Mag | Depth | Time GMT2026-01-15 | Epicenter | Agency |
| 3.41 ± 0.16 | 16 km9.6 mi±0.4 km | 09:40:11.56 | 7 km WSW of Holtville, CAEpicenter uncertainty: ± 0.2 km | USGS (United States Geological Survey) |
| 3.3 | 16 km9.6 mi | 09:40:11.56 | SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA0 km (0 mi) epicenter difference with USGSEpicenter uncertainty: ± 0.9 km | EMSC (European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre) |
| 3.2 | 16 km9.6 mi | 09:40:11 | CALIF.-BAJA CALIF. BORDER REGION0 km (0 mi) epicenter difference with USGS | IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology) |
Based on data from the past 56 years and our earthquake archive back to 1900, there are about 3,300 quakes on average per year in the area near the epicenter of this quake (within 100 km/61 mi):
The area where this quake occurred has a very high level of seismic activity. It has had at least 14 quakes above magnitude 6 since 1900, which suggests that larger earthquakes of this size occur infrequently, probably on average approximately every 5 to 10 years.
Previous quakes in the same area of this earthquake
The earthquake occurred 1 day 23 hours after a magnitude 3.4 earthquake had hit on Tuesday, Jan 13, 2026, at 02:11 am (GMT -8 local time) in 55 km (34 mi) distance to the southeast: The largest quake near the epicenter of this quake during the 10 years before was an event of magnitude 3.8. It had occurred 5 weeks earlier, on Tuesday, Dec 9, 2025, at 12:46 pm local time (America/Tijuana GMT -8) in Estado de Baja California, Mexico: The strongest-ever (since 1900) recorded quake in this area measured magnitude 7.3. It had occurred 34 years ago earlier, on Sunday, Jun 28, 1992, at 04:57 am local time (America/Los Angeles GMT -7) in California, United States: Below is a list and map of larger or recent quakes that had occurred near the epicenter before this earthquake (within up to 100 km/61 mi distance, up to 300 km/183 mi for very large quakes above mag. 7). Filter and sort the list by magnitude or time.
All
Magnitude All
Time before 48 hours 30 years
All
Magnitude All
48 hours 30 years
Oldest quakes are shown in yellow, most recent in red.
[quakes -] [quakes +] [smaller] [bigger]
Construction
Companies
Construction
Site Security
(916) 672-2660
Contact us
Construction Site Camera
sales@mrsecuritycamera.com
(916) 672-2660
