QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7Md

Earthquake near Isabela, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Isabela in the 24 hours to 5:59 pm AST (21:59 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 31 km (19 mi) N, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Isabela

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) north-northwest of Isabela, PR, at 1:08 am AST on 11 August 2016 (05:08 UTC), 67 km deep.

USGS: 13 km NNW of Isabela, Puerto Rico

38 km (24 mi) WNW of Arecibo, PR · 107 km (67 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR

1:08 am AST, Aug 11, 2016 · · 67 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Isabela Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Isabela Municipio 16 kmAguadilla Municipio 18 kmQuebradillas Municipio 22 kmMoca Municipio 27 kmCamuy Municipio 28 kmAguada Municipio 31 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 33 kmHatillo Municipio 34 kmRincón Municipio 38 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
1:08 am AST on 11 August 2016 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) north-northwest of Isabela, PR · earthquakes near Isabela
Magnitude
M 2.7 (Md)
Depth
67 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Isabela Municipio, 16 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3669 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Isabela, 14 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Rafael Hernandez, Mora, Aceitunas, Quebradillas, Caban, Cacao.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.7 45 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 33 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 17 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 35 km W of this epicentre
  4. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 26 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 20 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 18.6208, -67.0544. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Isabela Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) SSE earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) SSW earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) SE earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) S earthquakes near Moca Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 28 km (17 mi) SE earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) SSW earthquakes near Aguada Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 30 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 2 km SSW of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 7 km NNE of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 48 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 Mona Passage
  6. 2.7 33 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 17 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.1 5 km W of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.0 47 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 7 km SSE of Lares, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 9 km NW of Caban, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.3 9 km NW of Caban, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 29 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 15 km NNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.3 2 km SSW of La Playa, Puerto Rico

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.