QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6Md

Earthquake near Garrochales, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Garrochales in the 24 hours to 11:08 pm AST (03:08 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 12 km (7 mi) NW, at 2:05 am AST on 13 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Garrochales

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) north of Garrochales, PR, at 3:49 am AST on 28 March 2017 (07:49 UTC), 75 km deep.

USGS: 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico

54 km (34 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 23 km (14 mi) ENE of Arecibo, PR

3:49 am AST, Mar 28, 2017 · · 75 km deep · released about 240 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Garrochales Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Barceloneta Municipio 11 kmManatí Municipio 15 kmArecibo Municipio 20 kmVega Baja Municipio 20 kmFlorida Municipio 22 kmVega Alta Municipio 27 kmHatillo Municipio 30 kmCiales Municipio 31 kmMorovis Municipio 31 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
3:49 am AST on 28 March 2017 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) north of Garrochales, PR · earthquakes near Garrochales
Magnitude
M 2.6 (Md)
Depth
75 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Barceloneta Municipio, 11 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3516 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. In Garrochales, 13 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: Barceloneta, Tierras Nuevas Poniente, La Luisa, Imbery, Animas, Sabana Hoyos.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 240 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 2 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 23 km ESE 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 18.5685, -66.5495. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) S earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) SSE earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) SW earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) SE earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) S earthquakes near Florida Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) ESE earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 61 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 58 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 59 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.7 42 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.1 1 km SW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.7 2 km WSW of Río Lajas, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 5 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.8 18 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 29 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.8 55 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 4 km WNW of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 45 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.3 12 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.4 2 km NNE of Barahona, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 16 km N of Carrizales, 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.