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Hundreds of earthquakes strike Imperial Valley city of Brawley
A series of earthquakes has struck the Imperial Valley city of Brawley. The blue circle represents the largest to date: a 4.7 magnitude that struck early Sunday morning.
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Screenshot from U.S. Geological Survey website
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A swarm of earthquakes has hit the Imperial Valley city of Brawley, the most significant ranging in magnitude from 2 to 4.7 — with scores more registering at lower magnitudes.
In all, the U.S. Geological Survey has reported some 355 quakes over the past day. At least 40 quakes strong enough to make the 2.0 and higher magnitude list are among those.
No injuries or significant damage have been reported. A ShakeAlert was issued for the 4.7 magnitude quake. The early warning system alerts nearby residents to prepare, warning that strong shaking will start imminently.
Area residents report taking the quakes in stride.
"It felt all right. We were having a good day," Dave Ramirez, who works at a local truck stop, told LAist. " Nothing really crazy."
Here's a look at how earthquake magnitudes compare.
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Courtesy Incorporated Research Institutes for Seismology, IRIS.
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What we know so far
The first, a magnitude 3.4, struck around 4 p.m. Saturday. The latest was a magnitude 2.7 that hit after 7 a.m. Sunday.
The biggest so far was a magnitude 4.7 that rattled the area shortly after midnight Sunday.
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City leaders at Brawley, a city about 115 miles east of San Diego, say in a statement that they continue "closely monitoring ongoing earthquake activity and aftershocks affecting the region."
Swarms are common to the area
The jolts are concentrated around the Brawley Fault Zone, an area known for frequent earthquake swarms connecting the Imperial and San Andreas faults.
Lucy Jones, a seismologist with Caltech, said the phenomenon is not unusual for the region because of its geological makeup.
"Instead of having one big fault, there's a lot of small crossing faults," Jones said. "Probably hundreds of times we've seen swarms like this."
Will they trigger a bigger quake?
Even at magnitude 4.7, Jones doesn't believe the swarm will set off the San Andreas.
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"Aftershocks don't have to be on the same fault, but it has to be close enough that the stress change that produced the first earthquake can make it there," Jones said. "And how much it can make it there depends on the length of the fault. It's something that's true for all earthquakes."
Here's what the activity looks like on a seismogram
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Updated May 10, 2026 at 10:16 PM PDT
The story was updated with an interview with seismologist Lucy Jones.
Updated May 10, 2026 at 1:34 PM PDT
The story was updated with the latest earthquake that struck Brawley on Sunday.
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