QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0Md

Earthquake near Arecibo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Arecibo in the 24 hours to 5:30 pm AST (21:30 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 49 km (31 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Arecibo

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) northeast of Arecibo, PR, at 4:26 am AST on 11 April 2017 (08:26 UTC), 77 km deep.

USGS: 11 km NE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico

14 km (9 mi) NE of Arecibo, PR · 64 km (40 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR

4:26 am AST, Apr 11, 2017 · · 77 km deep · released about 950 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Arecibo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Arecibo Municipio 13 kmBarceloneta Municipio 13 kmHatillo Municipio 20 kmManatí Municipio 21 kmFlorida Municipio 22 kmCamuy Municipio 25 kmVega Baja Municipio 29 kmQuebradillas Municipio 31 kmUtuado Municipio 32 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
4:26 am AST on 11 April 2017 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) northeast of Arecibo, PR · earthquakes near Arecibo
Magnitude
M 3.0 (Md)
Depth
77 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Arecibo Municipio, 13 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3501 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 Arecibo, 11 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: Animas, Sabana Hoyos, Garrochales, Bajadero, Barceloneta, Carrizales.

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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 9 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 47 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 33 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 18.5520, -66.6522. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Arecibo Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) S earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) SE earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) SW earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) SE earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) SSE earthquakes near Florida Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) WSW earthquakes near Camuy Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 42 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.1 1 km SW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.7 2 km WSW of Río Lajas, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 5 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.8 18 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 29 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 12 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.4 2 km NNE of Barahona, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 16 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 44 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.0 Puerto Rico region
  12. 2.2 Puerto Rico region
  13. 2.4 3 km SW of Río Lajas, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 10 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.8 0 km NNE of Ciales, 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.