QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3Md

Earthquake near Jayuya, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Jayuya in the 24 hours to 11:39 pm AST (03:39 UTC). The last one was M 3.3, 43 km (27 mi) SSE, at 8:40 am AST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Jayuya

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) east-southeast of Jayuya, PR, at 11:53 am AST on 8 April 2017 (15:53 UTC), 35 km deep.

USGS: 8 km ESE of Jayuya, Puerto Rico

53 km (33 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR · 25 km (16 mi) NNE of Ponce, PR

11:53 am AST, Apr 8, 2017 · · 35 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Jayuya Municipio 8 kmOrocovis Municipio 8 kmVillalba Municipio 9 kmCiales Municipio 10 kmMorovis Municipio 16 kmFlorida Municipio 19 kmCoamo Municipio 20 kmUtuado Municipio 21 kmBarranquitas Municipio 22 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
11:53 am AST on 8 April 2017 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) east-southeast of Jayuya, PR · earthquakes near Jayuya
Magnitude
M 2.3 (Md)
Depth
35 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Jayuya Municipio, 8 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3504 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Jayuya, 8 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: Villalba, Guayabal, Ciales, Luis Llorens Torres, Juana Díaz, Coto Laurel.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 41 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 41 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 38 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 18.2015, -66.5149. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Jayuya Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) W earthquakes near Jayuya Municipio
Orocovis Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) ENE earthquakes near Orocovis Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) SSE earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Ciales Municipio, PR 10 km (7 mi) N earthquakes near Ciales Municipio
Morovis Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NE earthquakes near Morovis Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NNW earthquakes near Florida Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 Puerto Rico region
  2. 2.1 10 km ESE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 4 km WNW of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.4 2 km NNE of Barahona, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 2 km WNW of Parcelas Nuevas, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 2 km S of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 3 km SW of Río Lajas, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.8 10 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.8 0 km NNE of Ciales, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 4 km W of Central Aguirre, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.6 6 km ENE of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 1 km WSW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 1 km E of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 10 km NNE of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.7 3 km SE of Pájaros, 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.