QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9Md

Earthquake near Rincón, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Rincón in the 24 hours to 12:43 am AST (04:43 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 53 km (33 mi) NNE, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Rincón

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) west-northwest of Rincón, PR, at 7:54 pm AST on 2 December 2016 (23:54 UTC), 8.0 km deep.

USGS: 47 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico

7:54 pm AST, Dec 2, 2016 · · 8.0 km deep · released about 680 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Rincón Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 47 kmAguada Municipio 52 kmMayagüez Municipio 53 kmAguadilla Municipio 54 kmAñasco Municipio 61 kmMoca Municipio 63 kmIsabela Municipio 68 kmHormigueros Municipio 71 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 75 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
7:54 pm AST on 2 December 2016 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) west-northwest of Rincón, PR · earthquakes near Rincón
Magnitude
M 2.9 (Md)
Depth
8.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 47 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3541 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 31 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In Rincón, 47 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.

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 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 31 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 48 km E of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 58 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 21 km W of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 45 km E of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 33 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 42 km ENE 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 18.5095, -67.6593. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 47 km (29 mi) ESE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 52 km (32 mi) ESE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 53 km (33 mi) SSW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 54 km (34 mi) E earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 61 km (38 mi) ESE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 63 km (39 mi) ESE earthquakes near Moca Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 28 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.8 13 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 24 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.6 16 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.2 41 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.0 49 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.4 25 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.8 42 km W of Stella, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.0 21 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 45 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.0 40 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.4 66 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  13. 2.2 23 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.0 55 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.6 37 km NW of San Antonio, 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.