QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7Md

Earthquake near Culebra, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Culebra in the 24 hours to 6:22 am AST (10:22 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 25 km (15 mi) ENE, at 6:51 am AST on 11 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Culebra

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) south of Culebra, PR, at 3:40 pm AST on 23 October 2016 (19:40 UTC), 103 km deep.

USGS: 13 km S of Culebra, Puerto Rico

83 km (52 mi) ESE of San Juan, PR

3:40 pm AST, Oct 23, 2016 · · 103 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Culebra Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vieques Municipio 14 kmCulebra Municipio 16 kmCeiba Municipio 34 kmFajardo Municipio 37 kmNaguabo Municipio 45 kmLuquillo Municipio 47 kmHumacao Municipio 51 kmRío Grande Municipio 56 kmLas Piedras Municipio 59 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
3:40 pm AST on 23 October 2016 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) south of Culebra, PR · earthquakes near Culebra
Magnitude
M 2.7 (Md)
Depth
103 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Vieques Municipio, 14 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3584 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 Culebra, 13 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Isabel Segunda, Esperanza.

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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2016-09-02 — about 250 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 18.1858, -65.3109. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vieques Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) WSW earthquakes near Vieques Municipio
Culebra Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) N earthquakes near Culebra Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 34 km (21 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio
Fajardo Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) NW earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Naguabo Municipio, PR 45 km (28 mi) W earthquakes near Naguabo Municipio
Luquillo Municipio, PR 47 km (29 mi) WNW earthquakes near Luquillo 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. 3.0 24 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 26 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 27 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 1 km NE of Río Blanco, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 Puerto Rico region
  6. 2.9 27 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 28 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.9 Puerto Rico region
  9. 1.9 27 km SSW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.3 25 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.0 25 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 27 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.0 27 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 26 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.7 27 km SSW 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.