QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9Md

102 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico

Yes. A magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 102 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico, at 11:53 am AST on 8 January 2017 (15:53 UTC), 29 km deep.

· 29 km deep · released about 680 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Isabela Municipio 105 kmAguadilla Municipio 105 kmQuebradillas Municipio 108 kmCamuy Municipio 111 kmHatillo Municipio 113 kmMoca Municipio 116 kmAguada Municipio 117 kmArecibo Municipio 118 kmBarceloneta Municipio 120 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
Magnitude
M 2.9 (Md)
Depth
29 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Isabela Municipio, 105 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3512 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 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. 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 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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 4.0 on 2016-02-13 — about 45 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 93 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 25 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 81 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico · 27 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 67 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 42 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 88 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 24 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 57 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico · 49 km SSE 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 19.4253, -67.0826. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Isabela Municipio, PR 105 km (65 mi) S earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 105 km (65 mi) S earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 108 km (67 mi) S earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 111 km (69 mi) SSE earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 113 km (70 mi) SSE earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 116 km (72 mi) S earthquakes near Moca Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.1 66 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.2 115 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.4 101 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.2 110 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 72 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.1 88 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.3 67 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.8 99 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.2 93 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.8 70 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 69 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.4 87 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.6 65 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.4 88 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.9 80 km NNW of San Antonio, 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.