QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7Md

Earthquake near Hatillo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Hatillo in the 24 hours to 12:35 am AST (04:35 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 40 km (25 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Hatillo

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) north of Hatillo, PR, at 3:35 pm AST on 15 December 2016 (19:35 UTC), 4.0 km deep.

USGS: 4 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico

13 km (8 mi) NW of Arecibo, PR · 82 km (51 mi) W of San Juan, PR

3:35 pm AST, Dec 15, 2016 · · 4.0 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hatillo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Camuy Municipio 10 kmHatillo Municipio 10 kmQuebradillas Municipio 12 kmArecibo Municipio 19 kmIsabela Municipio 20 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 26 kmLares Municipio 28 kmBarceloneta Municipio 29 kmMoca Municipio 31 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
3:35 pm AST on 15 December 2016 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) north of Hatillo, PR · earthquakes near Hatillo
Magnitude
M 2.7 (Md)
Depth
4.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Camuy Municipio, 10 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Hatillo, 4 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.

Likely felt in: Hatillo 4 km, intensity III · Quebradillas 13 km, intensity III · Arecibo 13 km, intensity II · Isabela 21 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

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

  1. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 43 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 42 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 43 km W of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 39 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 28 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 18.5249, -66.8283. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Camuy Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) SSW earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) SSE earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) WSW earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) ESE earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) WSW earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
San Sebastián Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) SW earthquakes near San Sebastián 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. 2.7 11 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 5 km NE of San Germán, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 11 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 8 km N of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.0 10 km ESE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 Mona Passage
  7. 2.5 22 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.7 12 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 0 km ENE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.2 22 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.4 25 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.9 5 km NE of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.2 9 km ESE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 3 km SW of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.1 18 km NNE of Arecibo, 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.