2 Small Valentine's Day Earthquakes Shake Malibu

MALIBU, CA — Was it the earth's strange way of saying "I love you" on Valentine's Day? Two minor earthquakes just outside Malibu shook were reported within 30 minutes of each other on Sunday afternoon, according to CalTech and the United States Geological Survey's Southern California Earthquake Data Center.

First, a 2.2 magnitude quake occurred at 1:46 p.m. Sunday near the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway and Winding Way, near Point Dume, according to latitude and longitude points provided by the SCEDC. It struck 8.71 feet underground.

At 2:15, a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was reported at around the same area, and struck 11.42 miles underground.

Earthquakes below magnitude 2.5 are usually too minor to be felt, and do not cause any damage, according to seismologists at Michigan Tech. Malibuites were likely paying more attention to the nearly 30-mph winds gushing all across Southern California.

900,000 quakes under 2.5 are recorded each year. Retired USGS seismologist Lucy Jones said 3.0 earthquakes happen every week in California, but Californians should still prepare for the "big one" because it will happen sooner or later.

"I'm not trying to terrify. I'm trying to inspire action that will prevent our scenarios from coming true," she said in a keynote speech to international scientists in Japan on May 21, 2017.

In June 2019, a 3.7 quake struck about a half-mile off the Point Mugu coast. It struck deep in the earth, so did not cause much damage, but was still felt around Malibu, Ventura County, and the San Fernando Valley. In May 2017, a 3.3 quake struck off the coast and was widely felt. Some of Malibu's most notorious quakes include a 5.9 in 1973, a 5.2 in 1979, a 5.0 in 1989, and the 1994 Northridge earthquake, which caused damage in the city.

The city of Malibu conducts Community Emergency Response Team trainings, and says that it is updating its earthquake preparation plans. Visit their website for a comprehensive list of earthquake preparation tips.

— Patch staffers Michael Wittner and Alexander Nguyen contributed to this report.

Did you feel the earthquake? Let us know at michael.wittner@patch.com.