QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2md

90 km N of Loíza, Puerto Rico

Yes. A magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 90 km N of Loíza, Puerto Rico, 96 km (60 mi) NNE of San Juan, PR, at 7:15 am AST on 22 May 2017 (11:15 UTC), 116 km deep.

96 km (60 mi) NNE of San Juan, PR

· 116 km deep · released about 1,800 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Loíza Municipio 90 kmSan Juan Municipio 95 kmCataño Municipio 95 kmToa Baja Municipio 95 kmCarolina Municipio 95 kmDorado Municipio 96 kmRío Grande Municipio 97 kmLuquillo Municipio 99 kmFajardo Municipio 99 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
Magnitude
M 3.2 (md)
Depth
116 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Loíza Municipio, 90 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3381 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,800 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.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 190,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 8,500× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 6,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,800 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.9× 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:

  1. 5.1 92 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico · 13 km E of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 73 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico · 45 km SE 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 19.2450, -65.8436. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Loíza Municipio, PR 90 km (56 mi) S earthquakes near Loíza Municipio
San Juan Municipio, PR 95 km (59 mi) SSW earthquakes near San Juan Municipio
Cataño Municipio, PR 95 km (59 mi) SSW earthquakes near Cataño Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 95 km (59 mi) SSW earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio
Carolina Municipio, PR 95 km (59 mi) S earthquakes near Carolina Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 96 km (60 mi) SSW earthquakes near Dorado 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.

  1. 3.4 67 km NNE of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.5 135 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.3 51 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 78 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 100 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.6 127 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.7 48 km N of Loíza, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.1 84 km NNE of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.1 109 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.8 96 km NNE of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.0 92 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.2 112 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.2 108 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.3 102 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.3 130 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.