Earthquake near Lares, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Lares in the 24 hours to 4:44 pm AST (20:44 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 39 km (24 mi) S, at 3:58 pm AST on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Lares

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 10 km (7 mi) south of Lares, PR, at 2:16 am AST on 17 July 2017 (06:16 UTC), 65 km deep.

USGS: 10 km S of Lares, Puerto Rico

35 km (22 mi) NW of Ponce, PR · 27 km (17 mi) E of Mayagüez, PR

2:16 am AST, Jul 17, 2017 · 2017-07-17 06:16 UTC · 65 km deep · released about 72 lb of TNT

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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: 2:16 am AST on 17 July 2017 (2017-07-17 06:16 UTC)
Where: 10 km (7 mi) south of Lares, PR · earthquakes near Lares
Magnitude: M 2.3 (md)
Depth: 65 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Maricao Municipio, 6 km WSW
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 3405 days ago · we first saw it 3405 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 Lares, 10 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: Maricao, Juncal, Sabana Grande, Adjuntas, Lluveras, Quebrada.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 72 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 210,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 150,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 13× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.3 about 72 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 44 km NW of this epicentre Oct 25, 1918
5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 30 km NW of this epicentre May 16, 2010

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

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Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Maricao Municipio, PR	6 km (4 mi)	WSW	earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
Lares Municipio, PR	9 km (5 mi)	N	earthquakes near Lares Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR	10 km (6 mi)	WNW	earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR	13 km (8 mi)	SSE	earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR	13 km (8 mi)	E	earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR	15 km (9 mi)	SSW	earthquakes near Sabana Grande 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.

2.4 11 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico 18:24 UTC
2.6 11 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico 15:27 UTC
2.3 20 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico 09:00 UTC
2.6 0 km WSW of Sabana Eneas, Puerto Rico 03:06 UTC
2.5 18 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico 03:30 UTC
2.1 4 km E of Espino, Puerto Rico 06:46 UTC
2.3 12 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico 01:35 UTC
2.6 14 km N of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico 18:48 UTC
2.1 6 km ESE of Maricao, Puerto Rico 02:46 UTC
2.9 5 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico 01:31 UTC
2.0 9 km SE of Indios, Puerto Rico 03:53 UTC
2.0 14 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico 02:28 UTC
1.7 16 km SSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico 23:28 UTC
2.4 6 km SW of La Playa, Puerto Rico 20:45 UTC
2.7 12 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico 20:21 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 20:44 UTC. QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one

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