QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9Md

Earthquake near Humacao, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Humacao in the 24 hours to 8:55 pm AST (00:55 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 56 km (35 mi) ESE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Humacao

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 35 km (22 mi) southeast of Humacao, PR, at 12:44 am AST on 12 November 2016 (04:44 UTC), 4.0 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

73 km (45 mi) SE of San Juan, PR · 58 km (36 mi) SE of Caguas, PR

12:44 am AST, Nov 12, 2016 · · 4.0 km deep · released about 680 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Humacao Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vieques Municipio 29 kmHumacao Municipio 31 kmYabucoa Municipio 31 kmMaunabo Municipio 32 kmNaguabo Municipio 35 kmCeiba Municipio 37 kmLas Piedras Municipio 41 kmPatillas Municipio 42 kmJuncos Municipio 47 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
12:44 am AST on 12 November 2016 ()
Where
35 km (22 mi) southeast of Humacao, PR · earthquakes near Humacao
Magnitude
M 2.9 (Md)
Depth
4.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
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 small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 32 km (20 mi) from the epicentre. In Humacao, 35 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: Esperanza 24 km, intensity II · Isabel Segunda 30 km, intensity II · Emajagua 31 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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 130 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 17.9216, -65.6025. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vieques Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) NE earthquakes near Vieques Municipio
Humacao Municipio, PR 31 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

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

  1. 2.0 7 km WSW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.4 9 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.4 11 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 10 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.5 9 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.8 6 km SE of Lamboglia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.2 7 km SSW of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.1 11 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.9 9 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 9 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 11 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 11 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.8 12 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.4 11 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.0 10 km S of Emajagua, 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.