QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1md

Earthquake near Ceiba, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ceiba in the 24 hours to 3:25 pm AST (19:25 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 84 km (52 mi) SW, at 9:19 am AST on 18 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Ceiba

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded in Ceiba, PR, at 7:54 am AST on 22 April 2017 (11:54 UTC), 106 km deep.

USGS: 1 km SE of Ceiba, Puerto Rico

29 km (18 mi) W of San Juan, PR · 19 km (12 mi) WNW of Bayamón, PR

7:54 am AST, Apr 22, 2017 · · 106 km deep · released about 1,500 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vega Alta Municipio 0 kmVega Baja Municipio 7 kmDorado Municipio 9 kmToa Alta Municipio 12 kmCorozal Municipio 15 kmToa Baja Municipio 15 kmMorovis Municipio 16 kmManatí Municipio 16 kmNaranjito Municipio 18 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
7:54 am AST on 22 April 2017 ()
Where
in Ceiba, PR · earthquakes near Ceiba
Magnitude
M 3.1 (md)
Depth
106 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Vega Alta Municipio, 0 km NNE
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 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Monserrate, Vega Alta, Brenas, Sabana, San Antonio, Vega Baja.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,500 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 220,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 9,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 6,900× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,500 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.6× 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 28 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 29 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 7 km N 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 18.4341, -66.3373. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 0 km (0 mi) NNE earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) WNW earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) ENE earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Toa Alta Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) SE earthquakes near Toa Alta Municipio
Corozal Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) S earthquakes near Corozal Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 15 km (10 mi) E earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 0 km SSW of Cayuco, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 4 km SSE of Cayey, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.1 1 km NW of Bayamón, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 1 km S of Río Lajas, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 21 km NNE of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.1 5 km ESE of Cataño, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.9 3 km N of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.1 9 km ESE of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.7 20 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.2 26 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 33 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.0 4 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.6 6 km WNW of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.9 2 km NW of Aibonito, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 3 km E of La Plena, 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.