Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.2Md
114 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
Yes. A magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 114 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico, at 3:56 pm AST on 17 April 2017 (19:56 UTC), 35 km deep.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 3.2 (Md)
- Depth
- 35 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Loíza Municipio, 115 km SSW
- 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 31 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. 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 1,900 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 180,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,900× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,600× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,900 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2× more
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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.1 122 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico · 42 km E of this epicentre
- 5.1 92 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico · 22 km S 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 19.4533, -65.7086. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loíza Municipio, PR | 115 km (71 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Loíza Municipio |
| Fajardo Municipio, PR | 119 km (74 mi) | S | earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio |
| Río Grande Municipio, PR | 120 km (75 mi) | S | earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio |
| Carolina Municipio, PR | 121 km (75 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Carolina Municipio |
| San Juan Municipio, PR | 121 km (75 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Juan Municipio |
| Cataño Municipio, PR | 121 km (75 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Cataño Municipio |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
19 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 127 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 3.1 84 km NNE of Suárez, Puerto Rico
- 3.1 109 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
- 2.8 96 km NNE of Suárez, Puerto Rico
- 3.1 94 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
- 3.0 92 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
- 2.7 95 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
- 3.2 112 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 3.2 108 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 2.3 102 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 3.3 130 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 2.9 133 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
- 3.1 Puerto Rico region
- 2.6 122 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
- 3.1 115 km NNE of Vieques, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.