QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Arecibo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Arecibo in the 24 hours to 12:12 pm AST (16:12 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 49 km (31 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Arecibo

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) north-northeast of Arecibo, PR, at 12:37 am AST on 11 June 2017 (04:37 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 18 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico

67 km (41 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 21 km (13 mi) NNE of Arecibo, PR

12:37 am AST, Jun 11, 2017 · · 14 km deep · released about 16 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Arecibo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Barceloneta Municipio 20 kmArecibo Municipio 22 kmHatillo Municipio 26 kmManatí Municipio 26 kmFlorida Municipio 30 kmCamuy Municipio 30 kmVega Baja Municipio 33 kmQuebradillas Municipio 34 kmVega Alta Municipio 39 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
12:37 am AST on 11 June 2017 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) north-northeast of Arecibo, PR · earthquakes near Arecibo
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Barceloneta Municipio, 20 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3440 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 Arecibo, 19 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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: Animas, Garrochales, Sabana Hoyos, Carrizales, Bajadero, Barceloneta.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 16 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 5.8 930,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 660,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 59× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.0 on 2017-03-24 — about 1,900 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 49 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 11 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 64 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 50 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 35 km ESE 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 18.6278, -66.6496. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) SSE earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 22 km (13 mi) S earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) SW earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) SE earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) SSE earthquakes near Florida Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) SW earthquakes near Camuy Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 14 km N of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.9 2 km NNE of Franquez, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.9 5 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.8 7 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.7 12 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.4 29 km N of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.1 0 km SSW of Cayuco, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.0 12 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 17 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.8 45 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 15 km NNE of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 1 km S of Río Lajas, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.6 21 km NNE of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.0 10 km NNW of Camuy, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.7 20 km N of Brenas, 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.