Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.2Md
97 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
Yes. A magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 97 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands, at 5:11 pm AST on 31 July 2016 (21:11 UTC), 24 km deep.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 2.2 (Md)
- Depth
- 24 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Culebra Municipio, 133 km SW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3755 days ago
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 60 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 250,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 16× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.2 about 60 lb of TNT
Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.
For this area
No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.2 131 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands · 46 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.9 68 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands · 41 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.9 65 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands · 34 km SW of this epicentre
- 5.7 80 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands · 26 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.3 78 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands · 32 km WSW of this epicentre
Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.
Where
Epicentre 19.1035, -64.3462. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Culebra Municipio, PR | 133 km (83 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Culebra Municipio |
| Vieques Municipio, PR | 158 km (98 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Vieques Municipio |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
52 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.2 89 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 1.9 62 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 2.1 93 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 2.2 93 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 2.3 92 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 2.7 86 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 2.2 87 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 2.8 92 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 2.4 109 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 1.9 95 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 2.3 86 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 3.3 91 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 2.8 102 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 2.7 85 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 2.0 95 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.