QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1Md

Earthquake near Esperanza, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Esperanza in the 24 hours to 10:11 am AST (14:11 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 23 km (14 mi) SE, at 12:08 pm AST on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Esperanza

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) southwest of Esperanza, PR, at 8:04 pm AST on 14 December 2016 (00:04 UTC), 20 km deep.

USGS: 12 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico

70 km (43 mi) SE of San Juan, PR · 57 km (36 mi) ESE of Caguas, PR

8:04 pm AST, Dec 14, 2016 · · 20 km deep · released about 43 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Esperanza Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vieques Municipio 18 kmCeiba Municipio 28 kmHumacao Municipio 29 kmNaguabo Municipio 30 kmYabucoa Municipio 33 kmMaunabo Municipio 37 kmLas Piedras Municipio 39 kmFajardo Municipio 42 kmLuquillo Municipio 43 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
8:04 pm AST on 14 December 2016 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) southwest of Esperanza, PR · earthquakes near Esperanza
Magnitude
M 2.1 (Md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Vieques Municipio, 18 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3618 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Esperanza, 13 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: Isabel Segunda, Punta Santiago, Daguao, Aguas Claras, Bajandas, Naguabo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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 since 2016 was M 4.6 on 2016-12-05 — about 5,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 18.0093, -65.5481. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vieques Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) NE earthquakes near Vieques Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 28 km (18 mi) NNW earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio
Humacao Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) WNW earthquakes near Humacao Municipio
Naguabo Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) NW earthquakes near Naguabo Municipio
Yabucoa Municipio, PR 33 km (21 mi) W earthquakes near Yabucoa Municipio
Maunabo Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) W earthquakes near Maunabo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 34 km ESE of Isabel Segunda, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.8 15 km WSW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.4 11 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 11 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 8 km SSE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.7 11 km SE of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.1 11 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.0 7 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.0 10 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.6 13 km ESE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 9 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.7 32 km SSE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.2 14 km SE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.5 2 km WSW of Las Piedras, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.6 11 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.