QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4Md

Earthquake near Fajardo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Fajardo in the 24 hours to 7:40 pm AST (23:40 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 53 km (33 mi) SE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Fajardo

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) south-southeast of Fajardo, PR, at 11:53 pm AST on 17 October 2016 (03:53 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

77 km (48 mi) SE of San Juan, PR

11:53 pm AST, Oct 17, 2016 · · 16 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Fajardo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vieques Municipio 23 kmHumacao Municipio 35 kmCeiba Municipio 36 kmYabucoa Municipio 37 kmNaguabo Municipio 37 kmMaunabo Municipio 39 kmLas Piedras Municipio 45 kmPatillas Municipio 49 kmCulebra Municipio 49 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
11:53 pm AST on 17 October 2016 ()
Where
45 km (28 mi) south-southeast of Fajardo, PR · earthquakes near Fajardo
Magnitude
M 2.4 (Md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Vieques Municipio, 23 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3677 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Fajardo, 45 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: Esperanza, Isabel Segunda.

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

The largest earthquake within 50 km in our catalogue was M 4.3 on 2016-09-02 — about 710 times the energy of this one.

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 17.9370, -65.5319. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vieques Municipio, PR 23 km (15 mi) NNE earthquakes near Vieques Municipio
Humacao Municipio, PR 35 km (22 mi) NW earthquakes near Humacao Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 36 km (23 mi) NNW earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio
Yabucoa Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) WNW earthquakes near Yabucoa Municipio
Naguabo Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) NW earthquakes near Naguabo Municipio
Maunabo Municipio, PR 39 km (24 mi) W earthquakes near Maunabo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 27 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.9 1 km NE of Río Blanco, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 1 km N of Antón Ruiz, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 Puerto Rico region
  5. 2.9 27 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.3 28 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.9 Puerto Rico region
  8. 1.9 27 km SSW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.3 25 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.0 25 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 27 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 30 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.0 27 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 31 km SE of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.1 26 km SW of Esperanza, 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.