M4.7 Earthquake 4 km WSW of Brawley, CA — May 10, 2026

On May 10, 2026 at 07:10 UTC, a magnitude 4.7 shallow crustal earthquake struck 4 km WSW of Brawley, CA, at a depth of 13.7 km and coordinates 32.9690°, -115.5695°. The earthquake was reported felt by 151 peopleacross surrounding communities, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 4.7 (moderate). The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 94 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 419, placing it among routine seismic activity. The nearest populated place is Brawley (population 26,431).

Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 4.7 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 150 metric tons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 997 m — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.

Active aftershock sequence: This earthquake is the mainshock of an ongoing aftershock sequence. In the 2 hours since the mainshock, the USGS has recorded 25 aftershocks within 20 km of the epicenter, including 5 of magnitude 3.0 or greater. The strongest aftershock was a magnitude 3.3 event 1 hour ago. Aftershock sequences from mainshocks of magnitude 4.7 typically continue for several days and gradually diminish over time, though occasional larger aftershocks remain possible.

The epicenter is located in California, a region characterized by the San Andreas transform fault system, where the Pacific and North American plates slide past each other at roughly 46 mm per year. The nearest mapped fault system is the San Andreas Fault. View all earthquakes in California.

Learn more: San Andreas Fault · Magnitude scale · Aftershock sequences