QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3Md

Earthquake near Aguadilla, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Aguadilla in the 24 hours to 1:02 am AST (05:02 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 4 km (3 mi) SE, at 12:03 am AST on 6 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Aguadilla

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) northwest of Aguadilla, PR, at 6:22 am AST on 8 August 2016 (10:22 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 46 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico

6:22 am AST, Aug 8, 2016 · · 11 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Aguadilla Municipio 44 kmAguada Municipio 50 kmRincón Municipio 50 kmIsabela Municipio 54 kmMoca Municipio 57 kmAñasco Municipio 61 kmQuebradillas Municipio 63 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 69 kmCamuy Municipio 70 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
6:22 am AST on 8 August 2016 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) northwest of Aguadilla, PR · earthquakes near Aguadilla
Magnitude
M 2.3 (Md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Aguadilla Municipio, 44 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3748 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Aguadilla, 47 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.7 45 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 39 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 28 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 16 km SSE of this epicentre
  4. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 42 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 32 km SE 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 18.7488, -67.4468. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 44 km (27 mi) SE earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 50 km (31 mi) SSE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 50 km (31 mi) SSE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 54 km (34 mi) ESE earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 57 km (35 mi) SE earthquakes near Moca Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 61 km (38 mi) SSE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

49 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 2.0 48 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.9 77 km ENE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  3. 3.0 47 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.7 45 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.8 9 km NW of Caban, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.3 9 km NW of Caban, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.8 54 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 29 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.9 37 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 15 km NNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 60 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.1 75 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.1 67 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.4 36 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.4 93 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.