Minimal damage reported, but seismic threats remain in Southern California
On August 12 at 12:20 p.m. local time (19:20 UTC), a magnitude (Mw) 4.4 earthquake occurred in Highland Park, California (Figure 1) at a depth of 11 km (6.8 miles), according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
Highland Park is within Los Angeles County and is located 6 miles from downtown Los Angeles.
This region of Southern California experiences approximately 10,000 earthquakes annually, according to the USGS.
The majority of these quakes are so minor that they go unnoticed. Only a few hundred exceed a magnitude of 3.0, and only 15 to 20 surpass a magnitude of 4.0.
Throughout the summer of 2024, a handful of Mw 4 or greater earthquakes occurred in Southern California. In the city of Lamont, there were five earthquakes. There was also one each in the cities of Barstow and Ocotillo Wells. The recent Mw 4.4 earthquake near Highland Park occurred on the Puente Hills thrust fault system. This is the same fault network responsible for the 1987 Whittier Narrows Earthquake, which was a Mw 5.9 and resulted in eight fatalities and approximately $358 million in damages.
Reminders of Earthquake Risk in Southern California
These events serve as a stark reminder of the elevated risk of earthquake damage in California due to the many fault systems across the region.
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Quantifying seismic risk using tools that incorporate the newest understanding of earthquake science, especially in a region like Southern California, is important to managing and mitigating what could be an industry-shifting event.
CoreLogic identified over 5 million residential properties, with a combined $2.6 trillion in reconstruction cost value (RCV), with moderate or greater seismic risk in the Southern California metro area[1]. The Los Angeles metro area alone is home to 2.7 million residential properties with elevated[2] seismic risk (Table 1).
The values in Table 1 represent all the residential properties with earthquake risk and do not represent homes or the value of homes damaged during the August 12 Mw 4.4 earthquake. The RCVs in Table 1 represent the cost of materials and labor necessary to rebuild every home back to 100% assuming total damage.
As of August 13, officials in California reported no significant damage resulting from the Mw 4.4 earthquake in Highland Park.
| Earthquake Risk Category | Bakersfield | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim | Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad | |
| Very Low | Count | – | – | – | 121 | – |
| RCV (bn) | $0.0 | $0.0 | $0.0 | $0.0 | $0.0 | |
| Low | Count | 4,131 | 503 | – | 4,868 | 167,281 |
| RCV(bn) | $0.9 | $0.3 | $0.0 | $1.2 | $99.8 | |
| Moderate | Count | 91,732 | 266,611 | 20,228 | 156,761 | 625,627 |
| RCV(bn) | $36.3 | $184.3 | $15.0 | $90.2 | $306.2 | |
| High | Count | 143,542 | 1,571,809 | 118,821 | 411,882 | 7,517 |
| RCV(bn) | $58.8 | $847.8 | $67.7 | $194.3 | $2.8 | |
| Very High | Count | 8,192 | 872,422 | 79,363 | 732,356 | 40 |
| RCV(bn) | $2.8 | $407.5 | $34.8 | $342.2 | $0.0 |
CoreLogic Hazard HQ Command Central™ will continue to monitor the situation but no additional analysis is expected at this time.
Contact: Visit www.hazardhq.com for updates on the Mw 4.4 earthquake and information on future catastrophes around the globe.
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[1] Southern California metro area includes the Bakersfield, Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Riverside-San Bernadino-Ontario, and San Diego-Chula Vistsa-Carlsbad, CA Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSA).
[2] Moderate or greater earthquake risk
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