QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1Md

Earthquake near Canovanas, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Canovanas in the 24 hours to 11:29 am AST (15:29 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 75 km (47 mi) SE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Canovanas

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) southwest of Canovanas, PR, at 7:53 am AST on 14 January 2017 (11:53 UTC), 38 km deep.

USGS: 2 km SW of Canovanas, Puerto Rico

17 km (10 mi) ESE of San Juan, PR · 9 km (6 mi) SE of Carolina, PR

7:53 am AST, Jan 14, 2017 · · 38 km deep · released about 43 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Canovanas Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Canóvanas Municipio 4 kmCarolina Municipio 7 kmLoíza Municipio 10 kmTrujillo Alto Municipio 10 kmRío Grande Municipio 12 kmGurabo Municipio 12 kmJuncos Municipio 15 kmSan Juan Municipio 18 kmLas Piedras Municipio 20 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
7:53 am AST on 14 January 2017 ()
Where
2 km (1 mi) southwest of Canovanas, PR · earthquakes near Canovanas
Magnitude
M 2.1 (Md)
Depth
38 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Canóvanas Municipio, 4 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3588 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 Canovanas, 2 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: Campo Rico, Santa Barbara, San Isidro, Carolina, La Dolores, Bartolo.

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 lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 26 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 48 km WNW 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 18.3610, -65.9124. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Canóvanas Municipio, PR 4 km (3 mi) SE earthquakes near Canóvanas Municipio
Carolina Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) NW earthquakes near Carolina Municipio
Loíza Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) NNW earthquakes near Loíza Municipio
Trujillo Alto Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) WSW earthquakes near Trujillo Alto Municipio
Río Grande Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) E earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio
Gurabo Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) SW earthquakes near Gurabo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 4 km NE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.9 6 km SW of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 1 km N of Candelaria Arenas, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 9 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.2 10 km SSE of Daguao, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.6 14 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 12 km ESE of Candelero Arriba, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.8 3 km S of Cayey, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 1 km NW of Bayamón, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 28 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 5 km N of Olimpo, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.0 6 km NNE of Levittown, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.9 Puerto Rico region
  14. 2.5 0 km SW of Aguas Claras, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.6 3 km SE of Punta Santiago, 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.