QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Aguada, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Aguada in the 24 hours to 1:29 am AST (05:29 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 7 km (5 mi) ENE, at 12:03 am AST on 6 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Aguada

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 50 km (31 mi) west-northwest of Aguada, PR, at 8:57 am AST on 24 July 2017 (12:57 UTC), 19 km deep.

USGS: 46 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico

8:57 am AST, Jul 24, 2017 · · 19 km deep · released about 400 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Aguada Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 47 kmAguadilla Municipio 50 kmAguada Municipio 50 kmMoca Municipio 60 kmAñasco Municipio 60 kmMayagüez Municipio 63 kmIsabela Municipio 64 kmHormigueros Municipio 72 kmQuebradillas Municipio 73 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
8:57 am AST on 24 July 2017 ()
Where
50 km (31 mi) west-northwest of Aguada, PR · earthquakes near Aguada
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 47 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3399 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Aguada, 50 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 400 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 38,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 27,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 400 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 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 46 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 24 km E of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 45 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 6.3 58 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 28 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 40 km E 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 18.5893, -67.6065. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 47 km (29 mi) SE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 50 km (31 mi) ESE earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 50 km (31 mi) ESE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 60 km (37 mi) ESE earthquakes near Moca Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 60 km (38 mi) SE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 63 km (39 mi) SSW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 Mona Passage
  2. 1.9 14 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.1 50 km ESE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  4. 2.9 41 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 5 km WNW of Aguada, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.6 19 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.0 44 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.0 37 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.0 38 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 63 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  11. 2.0 31 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  12. 4.3 21 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.6 47 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 21 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  15. 4.4 52 km WNW 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.