QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Mona Passage

Yes. A magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded in Mona Passage, 11 km (7 mi) SSE of Mayagüez, PR, at 11:47 am AST on 22 May 2017 (15:47 UTC), 20 km deep.

11 km (7 mi) SSE of Mayagüez, PR · 116 km (72 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

· 20 km deep · released about 14 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hormigueros Municipio 3 kmSan Germán Municipio 8 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 14 kmLajas Municipio 16 kmSabana Grande Municipio 18 kmLas Marías Municipio 20 kmAñasco Municipio 20 kmMaricao Municipio 20 kmGuánica Municipio 27 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 1.8 (md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hormigueros Municipio, 3 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3459 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause 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: Monte Grande, Hormigueros, Cabo Rojo, Sabana Eneas, San Germán, Puerto Real.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 14 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 760,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 68× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 14 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.

Where

Epicentre 18.1085, -67.1148. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 3 km (2 mi) N earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) E earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) SSW earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) E earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) NE earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 31 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 14 km S of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.1 3 km SSE of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 32 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.7 Puerto Rico region
  6. 2.6 8 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 6 km W of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 9 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 11 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.2 4 km ENE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.8 Puerto Rico region
  12. 2.2 13 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.5 3 km S of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 Mona Passage
  15. 3.0 31 km W of Puerto Real, 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

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