QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9Md

Earthquake near Vieques, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Vieques in the 24 hours to 11:31 pm AST (03:31 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 74 km (46 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 Vieques

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) northeast of Vieques, PR, at 9:40 pm AST on 28 November 2016 (01:40 UTC), 110 km deep.

USGS: 6 km NE of Vieques, Puerto Rico

30 km (19 mi) ENE of San Juan, PR · 21 km (13 mi) ENE of Carolina, PR

9:40 pm AST, Nov 28, 2016 · · 110 km deep · released about 680 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Vieques Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Río Grande Municipio 10 kmLuquillo Municipio 14 kmLoíza Municipio 17 kmCanóvanas Municipio 18 kmCarolina Municipio 21 kmFajardo Municipio 23 kmTrujillo Alto Municipio 27 kmNaguabo Municipio 29 kmCeiba Municipio 29 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
9:40 pm AST on 28 November 2016 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) northeast of Vieques, PR · earthquakes near Vieques
Magnitude
M 2.9 (Md)
Depth
110 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Río Grande Municipio, 10 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3549 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 Vieques, 7 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: Suárez, Hato Candal, Loíza, Playa Fortuna, Río Grande, Palmer.

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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 43 km WSW 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 18.4664, -65.7870. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Río Grande Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) S earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio
Luquillo Municipio, PR 14 km (8 mi) SE earthquakes near Luquillo Municipio
Loíza Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) W earthquakes near Loíza Municipio
Canóvanas Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) SW earthquakes near Canóvanas Municipio
Carolina Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) WSW earthquakes near Carolina Municipio
Fajardo Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) ESE earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 35 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 1 km NW of Bayamón, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 28 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.0 6 km NNE of Levittown, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.9 Puerto Rico region
  6. 3.0 50 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.2 53 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.5 0 km SW of Aguas Claras, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 46 km NNE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.6 3 km SE of Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 20 km NNE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.6 20 km NNW of Loíza, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 46 km NNE of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 53 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.5 2 km WSW of Las Piedras, 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.