Small magnitude 3.6 earthquake 30 miles northeast of El Cajon, California, United States

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A magnitude 3.6 earthquake near El Cajon, San Diego County, California, USA, was reported only 4 minutes ago by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwide. The earthquake occurred at a very shallow depth of 4.5 miles beneath the epicenter early evening on Saturday, September 13th, 2025, at 7:02 pm local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.A second report was later issued by The Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS), which listed it as a magnitude 3.6 earthquake as well.Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should not have caused any significant damage, but was probably felt by many people as light vibration in the area of the epicenter. Weak shaking might have been felt in Mt Laguna (pop. 57) located 6 miles from the epicenter.Other towns or cities near the epicenter where the quake might have been felt as very weak shaking include Ramona (pop. 20,300) located 24 miles from the epicenter, Lakeside (pop. 20,600) 27 miles away, Winter Gardens (pop. 20,600) 28 miles away, Santee (pop. 57,800) 30 miles away, El Cajon (pop. 103,700) 30 miles away, and Escondido (pop. 151,000) 37 miles away. In Chula Vista (pop. 265,800, 41 miles away), and San Diego (pop. 1,394,900, 43 miles away), the quake was probably not felt.Earthquake data: Date & time: Sep 13, 2025 07:02 pm (GMT -7) local time (14 Sep 2025 02:02 GMT)Magnitude: 3.6Depth: 7.32 kmEpicenter latitude / longitude: 32.95°N / 116.47°W (San Diego County, California, United States)Primary data source: USGS