QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0Md

Earthquake near Palmarejo, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Palmarejo in the last 24 hours. M 2.2, 8 km (5 mi) S of Palmarejo, at 2:59 pm AST on 13 November 2026 (18:59 UTC); the estimated shaking in Palmarejo was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Palmarejo

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) south-southwest of Palmarejo, PR, at 3:06 pm AST on 16 March 2017 (19:06 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 6 km SSW of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico

24 km (15 mi) S of Mayagüez, PR · 120 km (74 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

3:06 pm AST, Mar 16, 2017 · · 12 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Palmarejo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lajas Municipio 7 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 8 kmSan Germán Municipio 15 kmHormigueros Municipio 16 kmSabana Grande Municipio 20 kmGuánica Municipio 20 kmMaricao Municipio 28 kmYauco Municipio 29 kmLas Marías Municipio 30 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
3:06 pm AST on 16 March 2017 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) south-southwest of Palmarejo, PR · earthquakes near Palmarejo
Magnitude
M 2.0 (Md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lajas Municipio, 7 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3529 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Palmarejo, 7 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.

Likely felt in: Pole Ojea 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 46 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 35 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 34 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 17.9885, -67.1084. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lajas Municipio, PR 7 km (5 mi) E earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) W earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NNE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) N earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) ENE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) ESE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 19 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.6 5 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.1 1 km ESE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 4 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 2 km SE of Sabana Eneas, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.9 34 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.7 3 km SSE of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.7 11 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.0 5 km SW of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 5 km SSE of Espino, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.8 12 km S of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.9 8 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 16 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.3 9 km S of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.1 14 km SSW of Guánica, 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.