QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7Md

Earthquake near Arecibo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Arecibo in the 24 hours to 10:58 pm AST (02:58 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 49 km (31 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Arecibo

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) north of Arecibo, PR, at 10:01 pm AST on 9 December 2016 (02:01 UTC), 72 km deep.

USGS: 14 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico

74 km (46 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 17 km (11 mi) N of Arecibo, PR

10:01 pm AST, Dec 9, 2016 · · 72 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Arecibo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hatillo Municipio 20 kmArecibo Municipio 20 kmCamuy Municipio 23 kmBarceloneta Municipio 24 kmQuebradillas Municipio 26 kmManatí Municipio 31 kmFlorida Municipio 32 kmIsabela Municipio 33 kmUtuado Municipio 37 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
10:01 pm AST on 9 December 2016 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) north of Arecibo, PR · earthquakes near Arecibo
Magnitude
M 2.7 (Md)
Depth
72 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hatillo Municipio, 20 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3535 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 Arecibo, 15 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Carrizales, Hatillo, Corcovado, Camuy, Animas, Bajadero.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 50 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 49 km N of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 48 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 18 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, 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 18.6070, -66.7281. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hatillo Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) SSW earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) SSE earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) SW earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) SE earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) SW earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) SE earthquakes near Manatí Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 Puerto Rico region
  2. 2.3 10 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.0 Puerto Rico region
  4. 2.9 45 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.9 6 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.7 9 km NNW of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.8 31 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.6 36 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.0 49 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.8 42 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.3 48 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.9 38 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.7 11 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.6 11 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.9 8 km N of Quebradillas, 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.