M2.6 earthquake 4km SSW of Brawley, California

A magnitude 2.6 earthquake struck 4km SSW of Brawley, California on Fri, May 23, 2003, 5:20 PM PDT (00:20 UTC), 16 km (10 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M4.2 4km SSW of Brawley, CA. This one was a foreshock.

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
2.6	Mh	Southern California Seismic Network	Preferred · Final · 0 stations
3.1	ML, local (Richter)	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Reviewed

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Felt at Brawley.

From the USGS event page for ci9519018. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 198 in the 60 days after this one and 119 in the 30 days before it.

The first 60 of 198.

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event ci9519018 (also filed as usp000bxzs). Read Mon, Oct 5, 2026, 4:41 AM UTC.