QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1Md

Earthquake near Arecibo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Arecibo in the 24 hours to 6:06 pm AST (22:06 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 49 km (31 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Arecibo

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) north-northeast of Arecibo, PR, at 10:46 am AST on 16 January 2017 (14:46 UTC), 99 km deep.

USGS: 18 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico

68 km (43 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 21 km (13 mi) NNE of Arecibo, PR

10:46 am AST, Jan 16, 2017 · · 99 km deep · released about 1,300 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Arecibo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Barceloneta Municipio 22 kmArecibo Municipio 22 kmHatillo Municipio 26 kmManatí Municipio 28 kmCamuy Municipio 30 kmFlorida Municipio 32 kmQuebradillas Municipio 33 kmVega Baja Municipio 35 kmIsabela 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
10:46 am AST on 16 January 2017 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) north-northeast of Arecibo, PR · earthquakes near Arecibo
Magnitude
M 3.1 (Md)
Depth
99 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Barceloneta Municipio, 22 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3501 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Arecibo, 19 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: Animas, Carrizales, Garrochales, Corcovado, Sabana Hoyos, Bajadero.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,300 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.4× more

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 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 48 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 13 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 50 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 64 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 49 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 37 km ESE 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 18.6352, -66.6660. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 22 km (13 mi) SSE earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) S earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) SSW earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 28 km (17 mi) SE earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 30 km (18 mi) SW earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) SSE earthquakes near Florida Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.2 15 km NNW of Camuy, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.9 44 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.1 58 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 24 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.7 52 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.2 54 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.0 15 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.8 48 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.9 32 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  11. 4.0 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 52 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 10 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.9 Puerto Rico region
  15. 2.3 10 km NNE of Carrizales, 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.