QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0Md

Earthquake near Rincón, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Rincón in the 24 hours to 4:44 pm AST (20:44 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 53 km (33 mi) NNE, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Rincón

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) northwest of Rincón, PR, at 10:27 pm AST on 12 March 2017 (02:27 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 48 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico

10:27 pm AST, Mar 12, 2017 · · 11 km deep · released about 950 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Rincón Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 48 kmAguadilla Municipio 51 kmAguada Municipio 52 kmMoca Municipio 61 kmAñasco Municipio 62 kmIsabela Municipio 64 kmMayagüez Municipio 65 kmQuebradillas Municipio 74 kmHormigueros 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
10:27 pm AST on 12 March 2017 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) northwest of Rincón, PR · earthquakes near Rincón
Magnitude
M 3.0 (Md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 48 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3531 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 35 km (22 mi) from the epicentre. In Rincón, 48 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 950 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 11,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 950 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 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 45 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 24 km E of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 46 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 6.3 58 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 29 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 40 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 18.6082, -67.6090. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 48 km (30 mi) SE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 51 km (32 mi) ESE earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 52 km (32 mi) ESE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 61 km (38 mi) ESE earthquakes near Moca Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 62 km (38 mi) SE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 64 km (40 mi) ESE earthquakes near Isabela Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 49 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.7 Mona Passage
  3. 2.9 56 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 34 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.9 34 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.3 44 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 51 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 Mona Passage
  9. 3.0 42 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.7 34 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.1 36 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.2 Mona Passage
  13. 2.6 34 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 19 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.0 4 km NW of Rincón, 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.