Magnitude 4.1 Earthquake Shakes Los Angeles County

A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck northwest of Malibu on Sunday afternoon, sending tremors across Los Angeles County and as far as Santa Barbara and San Diego, officials said.

The quake hit at 1:03 p.m. at a depth of approximately 7.2 miles, according to earthquake monitoring data. It was followed by a series of aftershocks, including a magnitude 2.5 tremor one minute later and magnitude 3.0 and 2.8 aftershocks at 1:07 p.m.

Pasadena residents, located approximately 43 miles east of the epicenter, experienced what seismologists classify as “weak shaking,” which typically causes minimal disruption and rarely results in damage to structures.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the tremor was felt by millions of people throughout Southern California, with reports coming from areas as far north as Santa Barbara and as far south as San Diego County. Caltech seismic stations from Fresno to Tijuana recorded the impact of this moderate earthquake, demonstrating its extensive geographic influence.

“Seismologists have spent decades trying to read the tea leaves to look for patterns,” said Susan Hough of the U.S. Geological Survey. “The seismic network was installed in Southern California 100 years ago because scientists thought that small earthquakes would show patterns before the big earthquakes happened. And that just didn’t work out.”

Communities closer to the epicenter, including parts of Malibu, Agoura Hills, Thousand Oaks, and Camarillo, experienced “light” shaking — sufficient to rattle dishes and windows and create sensations similar to a large truck striking a building.

According to seismologist Lucy Jones, founder and Chief Scientist of the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society based in Pasadena and Research Associate at the Seismological Laboratory of Caltech, Southern California experienced 15 seismic sequences with at least one magnitude 4 or higher earthquake during 2024 — the highest annual total in 65 years. Sunday’s event marks the first magnitude 4 earthquake for the region in 2025.

The Malibu area has emerged as a seismic hotspot, with three earthquakes larger than magnitude 4 recorded in the last 13 months, including a magnitude 4.6 quake on February 9, 2024, and a magnitude 4.7 on September 12, 2024.

Despite the apparent increase in moderate earthquakes, seismologists caution against interpreting this as a predictor of a larger impending event, noting that decades of research have not yielded reliable predictive models. Experts emphasize that such increases do not necessarily signal an imminent major earthquake.

The event serves as a reminder of California’s active seismic landscape and the importance of earthquake preparedness for all residents, including those in Pasadena.