QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tierras Nuevas Poniente in the 24 hours to 10:48 am AST (14:48 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 17 km (11 mi) WNW, at 2:05 am AST on 13 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR, at 3:12 am AST on 15 May 2017 (07:12 UTC), 101 km deep.

USGS: 6 km ENE of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico

40 km (25 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 31 km (20 mi) WNW of Bayamón, PR

3:12 am AST, May 15, 2017 · · 101 km deep · released about 250 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vega Baja Municipio 6 kmManatí Municipio 8 kmVega Alta Municipio 12 kmBarceloneta Municipio 13 kmDorado Municipio 18 kmFlorida Municipio 19 kmMorovis Municipio 20 kmCiales Municipio 24 kmCorozal Municipio 24 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
3:12 am AST on 15 May 2017 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR · earthquakes near Tierras Nuevas Poniente
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
101 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Vega Baja Municipio, 6 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3465 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. In Tierras Nuevas Poniente, 7 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Coto Norte, Vega Baja, Sabana, La Luisa, Manatí, Monserrate.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 250 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 61,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 43,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 250 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. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 16 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 41 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 10 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 18.4940, -66.4356. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) SE earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) SW earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) ESE earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) WSW earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) E earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) SW earthquakes near Florida Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 3 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.4 29 km N of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.1 0 km SSW of Cayuco, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.8 17 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.1 1 km NW of Bayamón, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.7 15 km NNE of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 1 km S of Río Lajas, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.6 21 km NNE of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.0 10 km NNW of Camuy, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.1 5 km ESE of Cataño, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.9 3 km N of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.1 9 km ESE of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.7 20 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.2 26 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 33 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, 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.