QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5Md

Earthquake near Culebra, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Culebra in the last 24 hours. M 2.9, 25 km (15 mi) ENE of Culebra, at 6:51 am AST on 11 November 2026 (10:51 UTC); the estimated shaking in Culebra was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Culebra

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 27 km (17 mi) south-southeast of Culebra, PR, at 5:57 pm AST on 5 March 2017 (21:57 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 27 km SSE of Culebra, Puerto Rico

5:57 pm AST, Mar 5, 2017 · · 11 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Culebra Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vieques Municipio 29 kmCulebra Municipio 30 kmCeiba Municipio 51 kmFajardo Municipio 55 kmNaguabo Municipio 62 kmLuquillo Municipio 65 kmHumacao Municipio 66 kmYabucoa Municipio 74 kmRío Grande Municipio 74 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
5:57 pm AST on 5 March 2017 ()
Where
27 km (17 mi) south-southeast of Culebra, PR · earthquakes near Culebra
Magnitude
M 2.5 (Md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Vieques Municipio, 29 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3538 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Culebra, 27 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.0 29 km S of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands · 43 km E 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 18.0986, -65.1617. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vieques Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) W earthquakes near Vieques Municipio
Culebra Municipio, PR 30 km (18 mi) NNW earthquakes near Culebra Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 51 km (32 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio
Fajardo Municipio, PR 55 km (34 mi) NW earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Naguabo Municipio, PR 62 km (38 mi) WNW earthquakes near Naguabo Municipio
Luquillo Municipio, PR 65 km (41 mi) WNW earthquakes near Luquillo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 19 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 11 km SSE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.1 14 km SE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.2 23 km SW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  5. 1.8 19 km S of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  6. 1.9 10 km S of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.2 7 km SE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.1 13 km SSW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.0 27 km NW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  10. 2.2 19 km SE of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.0 22 km NW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  12. 2.3 21 km S of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.0 10 km SSE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.6 21 km SSE of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  15. 1.8 16 km S of Esperanza, 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.