QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9Md

Earthquake near Mayagüez, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Mayagüez in the 24 hours to 9:50 pm AST (01:50 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 25 km (15 mi) SSE, at 3:17 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Mayagüez

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 41 km (25 mi) west of Mayagüez, PR, at 12:11 am AST on 17 April 2017 (04:11 UTC), 20 km deep.

USGS: 34 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico

97 km (60 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 41 km (25 mi) W of Mayagüez, PR

12:11 am AST, Apr 17, 2017 · · 20 km deep · released about 680 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Mayagüez Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 35 kmMayagüez Municipio 39 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 41 kmAguada Municipio 43 kmHormigueros Municipio 43 kmAñasco Municipio 44 kmSan Germán Municipio 52 kmMoca Municipio 53 kmAguadilla Municipio 53 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
12:11 am AST on 17 April 2017 ()
Where
41 km (25 mi) west of Mayagüez, PR · earthquakes near Mayagüez
Magnitude
M 2.9 (Md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 35 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3411 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Mayagüez, 41 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 680 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 45 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 17 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 16 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 18.1679, -67.5264. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 35 km (22 mi) ENE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 39 km (24 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 41 km (26 mi) ESE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 43 km (27 mi) ENE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 43 km (27 mi) E earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 44 km (27 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 16 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.9 38 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 7 km NNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.6 2 km SW of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.9 24 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.9 13 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.6 12 km SSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.8 14 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.0 12 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.9 11 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.8 10 km WSW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.8 5 km ENE of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.8 Mona Passage
  14. 3.1 75 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  15. 2.2 2 km NNW of Sabana Eneas, 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.