4.1 earthquake felt across Southern California, centered near Malibu

A magnitude 4.1 earthquake centered north of Malibu sent light and weak shaking across Southern California on Sunday.

The strongest shaking was felt in parts of Malibu, Agoura Hills, Thousand Oaks and Camarillo, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The strongest shaking was considered “light” as defined by the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale — enough to rattle dishes and windows and feel like a truck has struck a building.

California

Malibu has become an earthquake hotbed as the L.A. area sees rise in moderate temblors

Last year, Southern California experienced 15 seismic sequences with at least one magnitude 4 or higher earthquake — the highest total in 65 years.

March 10, 2025

Weak shaking may have been felt across a wider swath of the Southland, including downtown Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Gabriel Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, Simi Valley, Oxnard and Ventura.

The earthquake hit on Sunday at 1:03 p.m. It was followed by a magnitude 2.5 jolt a minute later, and magnitude 3 and magnitude 2.8 aftershocks at 1:07 p.m.

There were no immediate reports of damage.

According to the USGS, the light quake was felt across the region, from south Goleta to Huntington Beach.

The epicenter was in the Santa Monica Mountains, about three miles northwest of El Matador State Beach and 3.5 miles northeast of Leo Carrillo State Beach. The epicenter was seven miles southwest of Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village.

In Westlake Village, people felt a roll and shake over about five seconds. Residents in Reseda felt a steady shake. In Redondo Beach, the shaking felt like a long rumble; in Windsor Hills, the quake felt like a long, slow roll. Someone in Torrance felt two jolts, and near Los Angeles International Airport, the earthquake felt like a brief sway.

One person in downtown L.A. described a long but gentle shake.

An official at L.A. County Fire Station 88 on Malibu Road said no reports of damage had come in, adding “the guys here didn’t even feel it.” An official at Fire Station 99 on Pacific Coast Highway said it was felt but the station got no reports about damage.

Southern California has been experiencing a number of moderate earthquakes since 2024. For all of 2024, Southern California had experienced 15 seismic sequences with at least one magnitude 4 or higher earthquake, according to the count of seismologist Lucy Jones, a Caltech research associate. That’s the highest annual total in the last 65 years, surpassing the 13 seen in 1988.

Sunday’s earthquake was the first magnitude 4 jolt for Southern California so far in 2025, Jones said Sunday.

Experts have cautioned for months that the latest quakes don’t provide any additional clarity on the timing of Southern California’s next devastating earthquake. “Seismologists have spent decades trying to read the tea leaves to look for patterns. 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,” Susan Hough, seismologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, said a few months ago.

Jasmine Mendez contributed to this report.