QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Stella, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Stella in the 24 hours to 9:08 pm AST (01:08 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 55 km (34 mi) NNE, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Stella

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) south-southwest of Stella, PR, at 7:42 pm AST on 24 May 2017 (23:42 UTC), 26 km deep.

USGS: 12 km SSW of Stella, Puerto Rico

15 km (9 mi) W of Mayagüez, PR · 130 km (81 mi) W of San Juan, PR

7:42 pm AST, May 24, 2017 · · 26 km deep · released about 7.1 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Stella Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 14 kmAñasco Municipio 18 kmHormigueros Municipio 20 kmAguada Municipio 20 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 27 kmMoca Municipio 28 kmSan Germán Municipio 28 kmLas Marías Municipio 32 kmAguadilla Municipio 33 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
7:42 pm AST on 24 May 2017 ()
Where
12 km (8 mi) south-southwest of Stella, PR · earthquakes near Stella
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
26 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 14 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3456 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. In Stella, 12 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: La Playa, Rincón, Mayagüez, Las Marias, Añasco, Espino.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.1 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 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 46 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 26 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 38 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 48 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 30 km NE 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 18.2166, -67.2798. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) NNE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) ESE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) NNE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 27 km (16 mi) SSE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 28 km (17 mi) NE earthquakes near Moca Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 1 km E of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.7 3 km SW of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 7 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.6 2 km S of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.0 0 km NW of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.3 31 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.1 14 km S of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.1 3 km SSE of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.4 32 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.6 8 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 6 km W of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.2 9 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.2 11 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.2 4 km ENE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.2 13 km W of Rincón, 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.