QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0Md

Earthquake near Stella, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Stella in the 24 hours to 5:30 pm AST (21:30 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 55 km (34 mi) NNE, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Stella

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) west of Stella, PR, at 8:35 pm AST on 31 March 2017 (00:35 UTC), 89 km deep.

USGS: 17 km W of Stella, Puerto Rico

31 km (19 mi) WNW of Mayagüez, PR · 143 km (89 mi) W of San Juan, PR

8:35 pm AST, Mar 31, 2017 · · 89 km deep · released about 950 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Stella Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 18 kmAguada Municipio 25 kmAñasco Municipio 30 kmAguadilla Municipio 35 kmMoca Municipio 36 kmHormigueros Municipio 36 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 42 kmSan Germán Municipio 45 kmLas Marías Municipio 47 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
8:35 pm AST on 31 March 2017 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) west of Stella, PR · earthquakes near Stella
Magnitude
M 3.0 (Md)
Depth
89 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 18 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3435 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 Stella, 18 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: Rincón, La Playa, Aguada, Luyando, Las Marias, Añasco.

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 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 35 km N of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 26 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 34 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 45 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 33 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 46 km NNE 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 18.3015, -67.4135. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) ENE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) ENE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) E earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 35 km (22 mi) NE earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 36 km (23 mi) ENE earthquakes near Moca Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 36 km (23 mi) ESE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 36 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.8 25 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.1 3 km N of Monte Grande, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 1 km W of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 4 km NNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.7 1 km ENE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.2 Mona Passage
  8. 2.5 19 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.7 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.6 3 km SW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.1 1 km ESE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 4 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 17 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 2 km SE of Sabana Eneas, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.9 34 km WSW of Stella, 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.