QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Salinas, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Salinas in the 24 hours to 12:50 pm AST (16:50 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 8 km (5 mi) NW, at 5:05 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Salinas

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded in Salinas, PR, at 5:59 pm AST on 31 July 2017 (21:59 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 1 km ENE of Salinas, Puerto Rico

53 km (33 mi) SSW of San Juan, PR · 36 km (22 mi) E of Ponce, PR

5:59 pm AST, Jul 31, 2017 · · 10 km deep · released about 160 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Salinas Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Salinas Municipio 3 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 11 kmGuayama Municipio 16 kmCoamo Municipio 16 kmAibonito Municipio 17 kmCayey Municipio 20 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 22 kmBarranquitas Municipio 25 kmCidra Municipio 25 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
5:59 pm AST on 31 July 2017 ()
Where
in Salinas, PR · earthquakes near Salinas
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Salinas Municipio, 3 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3390 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. 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.

Likely felt in: Santa Isabel 13 km, intensity II · Coamo 14 km, intensity II · Guayama 18 km, intensity II · Cayey 19 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 160 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 92,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 65,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 160 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 4.6 on 2016-12-05 — about 1,500 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 35 km NNE 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 17.9805, -66.2846. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Salinas Municipio, PR 3 km (2 mi) ESE earthquakes near Salinas Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) WSW earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Guayama Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) E earthquakes near Guayama Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NNW earthquakes near Coamo Municipio
Aibonito Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) N earthquakes near Aibonito Municipio
Cayey Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) NE earthquakes near Cayey Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 1 km SSW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.2 6 km SSE of Jauca, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.9 7 km S of Jauca, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.1 12 km S of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.1 Puerto Rico region
  6. 2.5 5 km E of Bayamon, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.1 1 km SW of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 3 km SW of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 2 km ESE of Mariano Colón, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.6 1 km NW of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 3 km NNW of Patillas, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.6 0 km ESE of Villalba, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.6 2 km NNW of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 1 km NNE of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.3 1 km ESE of Río Cañas Abajo, 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.