January 24, 1980 Earthquake: Livermore, California, United States
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Livermore, California, United States on January 24, 1980 at 19:00:09 UTC, 11 km below the surface.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- January 24, 1980
- Time
- 19:00:09 UTC
- Place
- Livermore, California, United States
- Magnitude
- 5.9 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 11 km (7 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 37.855° N, 121.816° W
- Country
- United States
The toll
- Injuries
- 50
- Damage
- $11.5 million
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
This earthquake injured 44 people and caused an estimated $11.5 million damage (of which $10 million damage occurred at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory at Livermore). A small foreshock occurred at 1858 UTC on Jan. 24, and a sequence of 59 aftershocks followed in the next 6 days. A second principal earthquake occurred on Jan. 27. (reference #542)
Fifty people were reported treated for minor injuries, considerable damage (VII) in the Livermore area; some damage was also reported at Antioch, Concord, Danville, Dublin, Modesto, Pittsburg, Pleasanton, Stockton, Tracy, and Walnut Creek. Felt throughout the San Francisco-San Jose Bay area and in the San Joaquin valley from Sacramento to Fresno. (reference #1053)
Photos
From the NCEI/WDS Natural Hazards Image Database (doi:10.7289/V5154F01). Only photos by the USGS and NOAA, which are public domain, are shown.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- April 18, 1906, San Francisco, California, United States
- October 18, 1989, Loma Prieta, California, United States
- October 21, 1868, Hayward,san Francisco, California, United States
- August 24, 2014, Napa, Vallejo, California, United States
- October 2, 1969, Santa Rosa, California, United States
- June 10, 1836, California, United States
- July 20, 2007, Montclair, California, United States
- November 26, 1858, San Jose,san Francisco, California, United States
- July 4, 1861, Contra Costa,alameda Counties, California, United States
- October 31, 2007, San Jose, California, United States
- September 24, 1859, Half Moon Bay, California, United States
- May 15, 1851, Northern, California, United States
- October 22, 1854, Northern, California, United States
- October 22, 1855, San Francisco, California, United States
- February 10, 1869, San Francisco, California, United States
More
Significant earthquakes of 1980The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1980Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 4870.