QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4Md

Earthquake near Lares, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Lares in the 24 hours to 2:34 am AST (06:34 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 39 km (24 mi) S, at 3:58 pm AST on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Lares

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) south of Lares, PR, at 2:04 pm AST on 16 September 2016 (18:04 UTC), 6.0 km deep.

USGS: 12 km S of Lares, Puerto Rico

33 km (20 mi) NW of Ponce, PR · 30 km (18 mi) E of Mayagüez, PR

2:04 pm AST, Sep 16, 2016 · · 6.0 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Lares Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Maricao Municipio 8 kmLares Municipio 10 kmYauco Municipio 11 kmAdjuntas Municipio 11 kmLas Marías Municipio 13 kmSabana Grande Municipio 14 kmUtuado Municipio 19 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 20 kmSan Germán Municipio 20 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
2:04 pm AST on 16 September 2016 ()
Where
12 km (8 mi) south of Lares, PR · earthquakes near Lares
Magnitude
M 2.4 (Md)
Depth
6.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Maricao Municipio, 8 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3708 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Lares, 12 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.

Likely felt in: Lares 12 km, intensity II · Adjuntas 15 km, intensity II · Yauco 17 km, intensity II · Guayanilla 20 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 47 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 33 km NW 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 18.1840, -66.8626. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Maricao Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) W earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
Lares Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) N earthquakes near Lares Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) S earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) E earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) WNW earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) SW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 3 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.9 13 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 0 km SSW of Las Ollas, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 3 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 2 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.8 5 km S of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.2 1 km E of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 18 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 16 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 7 km SSW of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 4 km WNW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 7 km ENE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.7 9 km N of Animas, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.4 13 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.8 9 km SSE of Maria Antonia, 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.