QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4Md

Earthquake near Emajagua, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Emajagua in the 24 hours to 10:20 am AST (14:20 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 7 km (5 mi) ESE, at 2:59 pm AST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Emajagua

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) south-southeast of Emajagua, PR, at 10:29 pm AST on 14 April 2017 (02:29 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 11 km SSE of Emajagua, Puerto Rico

61 km (38 mi) SSE of San Juan, PR · 43 km (26 mi) SSE of Caguas, PR

10:29 pm AST, Apr 14, 2017 · · 12 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Emajagua Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Maunabo Municipio 13 kmYabucoa Municipio 18 kmPatillas Municipio 20 kmArroyo Municipio 23 kmHumacao Municipio 26 kmSan Lorenzo Municipio 31 kmLas Piedras Municipio 32 kmGuayama Municipio 33 kmNaguabo Municipio 36 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
10:29 pm AST on 14 April 2017 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) south-southeast of Emajagua, PR · earthquakes near Emajagua
Magnitude
M 2.4 (Md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Maunabo Municipio, 13 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3498 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Emajagua, 12 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.

Likely felt in: Emajagua 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

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 4.6 on 2016-12-05 — about 2,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 17.9043, -65.8320. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Maunabo Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NNW earthquakes near Maunabo Municipio
Yabucoa Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) N earthquakes near Yabucoa Municipio
Patillas Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) WNW earthquakes near Patillas Municipio
Arroyo Municipio, PR 23 km (15 mi) WNW earthquakes near Arroyo Municipio
Humacao Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) N earthquakes near Humacao Municipio
San Lorenzo Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Lorenzo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 33 km SSW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 26 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 28 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 26 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 26 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.3 26 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.8 27 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 28 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.0 28 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 27 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 26 km ESE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.9 26 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 28 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 26 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.2 30 km SSW of Esperanza, 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.