How many earthquakes have hit California so far in 2024?

Earlier today, a powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 hit the coast of Northern California, prompting a tsunami warning for the region that has now been called off.

The quake occurred at approximately 10:44 a.m. PST / 1:44 p.m ET, about 45 miles southwest of Eureka.

It comes shortly after residents around Los Angeles felt the ground shake in September when a 4.7-magnitude earthquake struck. The epicenter was centered 3.7 miles north of Malibu and 7 miles deep according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

That earthquake came less than a week after an earthquake registering 3.9 magnitude hit Ontario to the east of Los Angeles. All these earthquakes were just the latest in a string of incidents that have made 2024 a historic year for seismic activity in Southern California. In fact, seismologists have found that 2024 has seen more earthquakes than any year since 1988.

Southern California has now recorded 14 earthquakes measuring 4.0 or higher on the Richter Scale. Typically, the region will see between 15 and 20 of that size in a single year according to the USGS.

Does California have more earthquakes than any other states?

A report from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) found that the area that constitutes modern day California “has been tectonically active since the supercontinent Pangaea broke up approximately 200 million years ago.”

This is largely due to the state’s proximity to the western edge of the North American plate, one of the most seismically active areas on the planet. The lateral movement between the Pacific and North American plates has created many fault lines, increasing the probability of earthquakes.

As such, the California and Alaska are the two states with the highest likelihood of significant seismic activity with shaking. However, the areas with the most potential damage are on the East Coast, around major cities like Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York, and Boston. These areas with such a high concentration of buildings could suffer the most damage if an earthquake strikes.

This is even true in California, where the Puente Hills thrust fault system has the potential to be five to ten times more destructive than the San Andreas Fault.

“They are considered the set of faults capable of producing probably the most damage of any earthquake in SoCal because of the location,” said geophysicist Dr Lucy Jones of the California Institute of Technology. “Because they run under old structures and densely inhabited areas.”