QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8Md

Earthquake near Culebra, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Culebra in the last 24 hours. M 2.9, 25 km (15 mi) ENE of Culebra, at 6:51 am AST on 11 November 2026 (10:51 UTC); the estimated shaking in Culebra was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Culebra

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) north-northeast of Culebra, PR, at 3:27 am AST on 5 December 2016 (07:27 UTC), 131 km deep.

USGS: 41 km NNE of Culebra, Puerto Rico

99 km (61 mi) ENE of San Juan, PR

3:27 am AST, Dec 5, 2016 · · 131 km deep · released about 480 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Culebra Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Culebra Municipio 40 kmFajardo Municipio 54 kmVieques Municipio 65 kmCeiba Municipio 66 kmLuquillo Municipio 66 kmRío Grande Municipio 74 kmNaguabo Municipio 78 kmCanóvanas Municipio 84 kmLoíza Municipio 85 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
3:27 am AST on 5 December 2016 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) north-northeast of Culebra, PR · earthquakes near Culebra
Magnitude
M 2.8 (Md)
Depth
131 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Culebra Municipio, 40 km SSW
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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Culebra, 42 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 480 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 32,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 480 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. 5.2 36 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands · 49 km E 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 18.6569, -65.1672. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Culebra Municipio, PR 40 km (25 mi) SSW earthquakes near Culebra Municipio
Fajardo Municipio, PR 54 km (33 mi) SW earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Vieques Municipio, PR 65 km (41 mi) SSW earthquakes near Vieques Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 66 km (41 mi) SW earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio
Luquillo Municipio, PR 66 km (41 mi) WSW earthquakes near Luquillo Municipio
Río Grande Municipio, PR 74 km (46 mi) WSW earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 69 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.0 50 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 59 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.3 55 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  5. 3.1 26 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  6. 3.0 6 km WSW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  7. 3.2 29 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  8. 2.4 35 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  9. 3.1 26 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  10. 2.6 41 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  11. 3.3 72 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  12. 3.1 53 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  13. 3.2 59 km NNE of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.2 74 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  15. 2.0 16 km NNE of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands

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.