QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8Md

Earthquake near Esperanza, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Esperanza in the 24 hours to 10:47 am AST (14:47 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 15 km (10 mi) west-southwest of Esperanza, PR, at 2:23 am AST on 16 January 2017 (06:23 UTC), 21 km deep.

USGS: 15 km WSW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico

65 km (40 mi) SE of San Juan, PR · 52 km (32 mi) ESE of Caguas, PR

2:23 am AST, Jan 16, 2017 · · 21 km deep · released about 15 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Esperanza Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vieques Municipio 21 kmHumacao Municipio 24 kmNaguabo Municipio 25 kmCeiba Municipio 26 kmYabucoa Municipio 28 kmMaunabo Municipio 32 kmLas Piedras Municipio 34 kmJuncos Municipio 40 kmLuquillo Municipio 40 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
2:23 am AST on 16 January 2017 ()
Where
15 km (10 mi) west-southwest of Esperanza, PR · earthquakes near Esperanza
Magnitude
M 1.8 (Md)
Depth
21 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Vieques Municipio, 21 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3586 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, 15 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, Bajandas, Naguabo, Aguas Claras.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 15 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 710,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 63× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 15 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 16,000 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 18.0249, -65.5952. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vieques Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) ENE earthquakes near Vieques Municipio
Humacao Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) WNW earthquakes near Humacao Municipio
Naguabo Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) NW earthquakes near Naguabo Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) N earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio
Yabucoa Municipio, PR 28 km (18 mi) W earthquakes near Yabucoa Municipio
Maunabo Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) W earthquakes near Maunabo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 11 km SSE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.0 23 km SSE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 20 km SSE of Lamboglia, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 16 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 23 km SSE of Lamboglia, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.4 24 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.6 15 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.5 27 km SSE of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.9 32 km SSW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 15 km ESE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.4 20 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 23 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.2 22 km SSW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 10 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.3 10 km SSE 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.