QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4Md

93 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico

Yes. A magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 93 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico, at 1:32 pm AST on 14 April 2017 (17:32 UTC), 40 km deep.

· 40 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fajardo Municipio 89 kmCulebra Municipio 91 kmLuquillo Municipio 96 kmRío Grande Municipio 99 kmLoíza Municipio 102 kmCeiba Municipio 104 kmCarolina Municipio 108 kmCanóvanas Municipio 108 kmSan Juan Municipio 112 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
Magnitude
M 2.4 (Md)
Depth
40 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fajardo Municipio, 89 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3500 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. 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2016-09-04 — about 710 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.0 112 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands · 47 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 107 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands · 43 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 122 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico · 29 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 92 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico · 44 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.0 109 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands · 38 km ENE 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 19.1459, -65.3223. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fajardo Municipio, PR 89 km (55 mi) SSW earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Culebra Municipio, PR 91 km (57 mi) S earthquakes near Culebra Municipio
Luquillo Municipio, PR 96 km (59 mi) SSW earthquakes near Luquillo Municipio
Río Grande Municipio, PR 99 km (62 mi) SSW earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio
Loíza Municipio, PR 102 km (63 mi) SW earthquakes near Loíza Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 104 km (65 mi) SSW earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 98 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  2. 2.8 97 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  3. 2.2 76 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  4. 2.3 85 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  5. 2.0 78 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  6. 2.1 98 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  7. 2.0 101 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  8. 3.4 88 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  9. 2.0 79 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  10. 2.5 113 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  11. 3.0 102 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.1 104 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  13. 2.8 103 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  14. 3.2 86 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 81 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands

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.