QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4Md

Earthquake near Esperanza, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Esperanza in the 24 hours to 10:15 am AST (14:15 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 2.4 earthquake was recorded 25 km (15 mi) southwest of Esperanza, PR, at 9:50 pm AST on 8 March 2017 (01:50 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 24 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico

73 km (45 mi) SE of San Juan, PR · 58 km (36 mi) SE of Caguas, PR

9:50 pm AST, Mar 8, 2017 · · 12 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Esperanza Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vieques Municipio 30 kmHumacao Municipio 31 kmYabucoa Municipio 31 kmMaunabo Municipio 32 kmNaguabo Municipio 35 kmCeiba Municipio 37 kmLas Piedras Municipio 41 kmPatillas Municipio 41 kmArroyo Municipio 46 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
9:50 pm AST on 8 March 2017 ()
Where
25 km (15 mi) southwest of Esperanza, PR · earthquakes near Esperanza
Magnitude
M 2.4 (Md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Vieques Municipio, 30 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3534 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Esperanza, 25 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: El Negro.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 2,000 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 17.9172, -65.6070. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vieques Municipio, PR 30 km (18 mi) NE earthquakes near Vieques Municipio
Humacao Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) NW earthquakes near Humacao Municipio
Yabucoa Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) WNW earthquakes near Yabucoa Municipio
Maunabo Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) WNW earthquakes near Maunabo Municipio
Naguabo Municipio, PR 35 km (22 mi) NNW earthquakes near Naguabo Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) N earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 28 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.9 10 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.4 26 km ESE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 26 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.0 27 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 30 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.9 19 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 Puerto Rico region
  9. 2.1 11 km SSE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 27 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 26 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.1 1 km ESE of Playita, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 14 km SE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.2 29 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.3 Puerto Rico region

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.