{"id":140964,"date":"2026-01-20T03:34:07","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T03:34:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/140964\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T03:34:07","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T03:34:07","slug":"magnitude-4-9-earthquake-shakes-southern-californias-coachella-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/140964\/","title":{"rendered":"Magnitude 4.9 earthquake shakes Southern California’s Coachella Valley"},"content":{"rendered":"

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake shook parts of Southern California on Jan. 19<\/a>, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.<\/p>\n

The quake struck about 12 miles northeast of Indio at around 5:56 p.m. PT. It caused serious shaking in many parts of the Coachella Valley, located about 130 miles east of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

As of 6:30 p.m., the USGS had identified at least 17 aftershocks related to the initial quake. The initial shock was estimated at a depth beneath the surface of 1.8 miles. Two of the aftershocks were reported at magnitudes of 3.4 and 3.3.<\/p>\n

There were no immediate reports of damage in Palm Springs, according to Palm Springs Police Department spokesperson Gustavo Araiza.<\/p>\n

What am I supposed to do during an earthquake?<\/p>\n

It depends on where you are. Here\u2019s what to do in the following situations, according to Ready.gov<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Turn face down and cover your head and neck with a pillow if you\u2019re in bed.<\/p>\n

If you are outside, stay outdoors and away from buildings.<\/p>\n

If you are inside, stay. Avoid doorways and do not run outside.<\/p>\n

To protect yourself during an earthquake, drop down to your hands and knees and hold onto something sturdy. Cover your head and neck with your arms and crawl underneath a sturdy table or desk to shelter. If that\u2019s not available to you, then crawl next to an interior wall to get away from windows. If you are under a table or desk, hold onto it with one hand so that if it moves, you can move with it.<\/p>\n

What if I\u2019m driving during an earthquake?<\/p>\n

Slow down and pull over as soon as it\u2019s safe, according to the California Highway Patrol. Remain in the vehicle with your seat belt fastened, engine off and parking brake set.<\/p>\n

Once the shaking stops, check your vehicle for damage and its occupants for injuries. Only begin driving when it is safe to do so. Once you can start moving again, do so slowly and cautiously, avoiding any areas of the road that appear to be damaged or obstructed, and continue to avoid bridges and ramps.<\/p>\n

Why do earthquakes happen?<\/p>\n

The Earth has four layers: the inner core, outer core, mantle and crust. The crust and top of the mantle make up another area called the “lithosphere<\/a>,” which acts like a skin surrounding the Earth’s surface.<\/p>\n

The lithosphere, however, is not in one piece and exists like a puzzle or series of fragments, according to the USGS. These parts of the lithosphere are not stationary and move slowly. These are called “tectonic plates<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

As the tectonic plates move and shift past one another, they occasionally bump or collide. This places stress on the plates’ edges. When the stress becomes too great, it creates cracks called “faults.” The point where these faults move against each other is called the “fault line.”<\/p>\n

When there is too much friction between the fault lines, energy is suddenly released, triggering seismic waves that lead to an earthquake.<\/p>\n

What have been the biggest earthquakes in recorded California history?<\/p>\n

\u200b\u200bCalifornia’s largest recorded earthquakes since 1800, ranked by magnitude, according to the California Department of Conservation.<\/a><\/p>\n

7.9: Jan. 9, 1857 in Fort Tejon Two killed; created 220-mile surface scar<\/p>\n

7.8: April 18, 1906 in San Francisco Possibly 3,000 killed; 225,000 displaced<\/p>\n

7.4: March 26, 1872 in Owens Valley. 27 kille\u200bd; three aftershocks of magnitude >6<\/p>\n

7.4: Nov. 8, 1980 just west of Eureka Injured 6; $2 million in damage<\/p>\n

7.3: July 21, 1952 in Kern County 12 killed; included three magnitude 6-plus aftershocks in five days<\/p>\n

7.3: June 28, 1992 in Landers. One killed; 400 injured; $9.1 million in damage<\/p>\n

7.2: Jan. 22, 1923 in Mendocino. Damaged homes in several towns<\/p>\n

7.2: April 25, 1992 in Cape Mendocino. 356 injuries; $48.3 million in damage<\/p>\n

7.1: Nov. 4, 1927 southwest of Lompoc. No major injuries, slight damage in two counties<\/p>\n

7.1 : Oct. 16, 1999 in Ludlow. Minimal damage due to remote location\u200b<\/p>\n

When is the next earthquake in California?<\/p>\n

It is not currently possible to predict an earthquake, though USGS scientists can calculate \u201cthe probability that a significant earthquake will occur in a specific area within a certain number of years,\u201d according to USGS<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While earthquake forecasts and probabilities can be determined, USGS says<\/a> those reports are \u201ccomparable to climate probabilities and weather forecasts\u201d and not the same as predictions.<\/p>\n

A USGS map of America<\/a> reveals that portions of California face a greater than 95% chance of experiencing a slight or greater damaging earthquake shaking in 100 years. In other words, a strong earthquake on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale<\/a> that will be \u201cfelt by all\u201d will move some heavy furniture and cause slight damage.<\/p>\n

Several hours before Monday’s earthquake, the Seismology Laboratory at Berkeley had posted an informational thread <\/a>on California and earthquakes, saying it’s fiction that California could eventually break off and fall into the ocean.<\/p>\n

That’s because earthquakes in California “cause horizontal motion, not giant sinkholes or land dropping into the sea,” the lab shared on X. “No part of California is sitting on an ‘edge’ that can suddenly break off,” the lab said. That means the state won’t detach, sink or disappear into the Pacific. Earthquakes will continue, the lab stated, and the coastline will slowly shift over millions of years, “but the land isn’t going anywhere suddenly.”<\/p>\n

Contributing: Dinah Voyles Pulver<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Magnitude 4.9 earthquake shakes Southern California’s Coachella Valley<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A magnitude 4.9 earthquake shook parts of Southern California on Jan. 19, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":111201,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[71085,7,9,859,8,9548,9549,71086,1009,71087,8953],"class_list":["post-140964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-aftershocks","tag-california","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-highway-patrol","tag-california-news","tag-coachella-valley","tag-palm-springs","tag-palm-springs-police-department","tag-southern-california","tag-tectonic-plates-move","tag-usgs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140964\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111201"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}