QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.0Ml

Earthquake near Esperanza, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Esperanza in the 24 hours to 6:01 pm AST (22:01 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 23 km (14 mi) SE, at 12:08 pm AST on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Esperanza

This page: a magnitude 4.0 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) southwest of Esperanza, PR, at 10:31 am AST on 11 November 2016 (14:31 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 6 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 24 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico

72 km (45 mi) SE of San Juan, PR · 57 km (35 mi) SE of Caguas, PR

10:31 am AST, Nov 11, 2016 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 15 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Esperanza Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vieques Municipio 29 kmHumacao Municipio 30 kmYabucoa Municipio 31 kmMaunabo Municipio 32 kmNaguabo Municipio 35 kmCeiba Municipio 37 kmLas Piedras Municipio 40 kmPatillas Municipio 41 kmArroyo Municipio 46 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
10:31 am AST on 11 November 2016 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) southwest of Esperanza, PR · earthquakes near Esperanza
Magnitude
M 4.0 (Ml)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
6 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
Tsunami
USGS flagged this event for tsunami evaluation. Follow tsunami.gov for official messages.
Nearest
Vieques Municipio, 29 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3563 days ago

This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 97 km (60 mi) from the epicentre. In Esperanza, 24 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Esperanza 24 km, intensity III · Emajagua 30 km, intensity III · Isabel Segunda 31 km, intensity III · Humacao 34 km, intensity III · Aguas Claras 37 km, intensity III · Fajardo 45 km, intensity III · Jagual 49 km, intensity III. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 11,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.0 about 15 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 32× more

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 2.8 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 17.9216, -65.6090. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vieques Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) NE earthquakes near Vieques Municipio
Humacao Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) NW earthquakes near Humacao Municipio
Yabucoa Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) WNW earthquakes near Yabucoa Municipio
Maunabo Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) WNW earthquakes near Maunabo Municipio
Naguabo Municipio, PR 35 km (22 mi) NNW earthquakes near Naguabo Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) N earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 31 km SSW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.6 19 km ESE of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 27 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 17 km SSE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.0 15 km SE of Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.4 27 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.1 14 km SE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.5 30 km SSW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.0 28 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.7 29 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 10 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.9 27 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.2 28 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.7 21 km ESE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.8 6 km ESE of Comunas, 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.