QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1Md

Earthquake near Pájaros, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Pájaros in the 24 hours to 10:11 am AST (14:11 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 91 km (56 mi) WSW, at 9:19 am AST on 18 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Pájaros

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded in Pájaros, PR, at 5:17 pm AST on 23 January 2017 (21:17 UTC), 112 km deep.

USGS: 1 km SSE of Pájaros, Puerto Rico

5 km (3 mi) WSW of Bayamón, PR

5:17 pm AST, Jan 23, 2017 · · 112 km deep · released about 1,300 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Pájaros Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Toa Alta Municipio 4 kmBayamón Municipio 4 kmNaranjito Municipio 9 kmGuaynabo Municipio 10 kmToa Baja Municipio 11 kmCataño Municipio 12 kmCorozal Municipio 14 kmAguas Buenas Municipio 14 kmDorado Municipio 14 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
5:17 pm AST on 23 January 2017 ()
Where
in Pájaros, PR · earthquakes near Pájaros
Magnitude
M 3.1 (Md)
Depth
112 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Toa Alta Municipio, 4 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3579 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. 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: Mucarabones, Galateo, Candelaria, Toa Alta, San José, Candelaria Arenas.

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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 44 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 13 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 21 km NW 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 18.3560, -66.2088. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Toa Alta Municipio, PR 4 km (2 mi) WNW earthquakes near Toa Alta Municipio
Bayamón Municipio, PR 4 km (3 mi) E earthquakes near Bayamón Municipio
Naranjito Municipio, PR 9 km (5 mi) SSW earthquakes near Naranjito Municipio
Guaynabo Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) E earthquakes near Guaynabo Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) N earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio
Cataño Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) NNE earthquakes near Cataño Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 3 km WNW of Candelero Arriba, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 4 km NE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.9 6 km SW of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 8 km ESE of Jayuya, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 1 km N of Candelaria Arenas, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.8 2 km WSW of Villalba, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.6 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.9 32 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 14 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 4 km WNW of Villalba, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.8 3 km S of Cayey, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 3 km SE of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.7 1 km S of Las Ochenta, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.9 35 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.0 3 km NW of Villalba, 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.