QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6Md

Earthquake near Humacao, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Humacao in the 24 hours to 10:10 am AST (14:10 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 56 km (35 mi) ESE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Humacao

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 50 km (31 mi) south-southeast of Humacao, PR, at 5:27 am AST on 19 December 2016 (09:27 UTC), 7.0 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

86 km (54 mi) SSE of San Juan, PR

5:27 am AST, Dec 19, 2016 · · 7.0 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Humacao Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Maunabo Municipio 39 kmYabucoa Municipio 42 kmPatillas Municipio 46 kmHumacao Municipio 47 kmArroyo Municipio 49 kmVieques Municipio 50 kmNaguabo Municipio 54 kmLas Piedras Municipio 55 kmSan Lorenzo Municipio 57 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
5:27 am AST on 19 December 2016 ()
Where
50 km (31 mi) south-southeast of Humacao, PR · earthquakes near Humacao
Magnitude
M 2.6 (Md)
Depth
7.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Maunabo Municipio, 39 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3528 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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Humacao, 50 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 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 in our catalogue was M 4.6 on 2016-12-05 — about 1,000 times the energy of this one.

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 17.7306, -65.6601. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Maunabo Municipio, PR 39 km (24 mi) NW earthquakes near Maunabo Municipio
Yabucoa Municipio, PR 42 km (26 mi) NNW earthquakes near Yabucoa Municipio
Patillas Municipio, PR 46 km (28 mi) NW earthquakes near Patillas Municipio
Humacao Municipio, PR 47 km (29 mi) NNW earthquakes near Humacao Municipio
Arroyo Municipio, PR 49 km (30 mi) WNW earthquakes near Arroyo Municipio
Vieques Municipio, PR 50 km (31 mi) NNE earthquakes near Vieques Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 18 km SSE of Lamboglia, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.8 9 km SSE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.4 29 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.2 29 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 13 km ESE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 4 km SSE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 Puerto Rico region
  8. 2.6 33 km SE of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.7 29 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.6 3 km SE of Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 31 km SSW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.8 8 km SSW of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.2 10 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.7 29 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 9 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.