QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2md

Earthquake near La Playa, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in La Playa in the 24 hours to 5:28 pm AST (21:28 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 28 km (17 mi) WSW, at 12:57 am AST on 19 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near La Playa

This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) south of La Playa, PR, at 10:51 pm AST on 9 August 2017 (02:51 UTC), 127 km deep.

USGS: 2 km S of La Playa, Puerto Rico

9 km (5 mi) NW of Mayagüez, PR · 120 km (74 mi) W of San Juan, PR

10:51 pm AST, Aug 9, 2017 · · 127 km deep · released about 1,800 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near La Playa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Añasco Municipio 7 kmRincón Municipio 11 kmAguada Municipio 12 kmHormigueros Municipio 16 kmMoca Municipio 17 kmLas Marías Municipio 23 kmSan Germán Municipio 24 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 24 kmAguadilla Municipio 24 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
10:51 pm AST on 9 August 2017 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) south of La Playa, PR · earthquakes near La Playa
Magnitude
M 3.2 (md)
Depth
127 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Añasco Municipio, 7 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3305 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In La Playa, 3 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: Las Marias, Añasco, Espino, Mayagüez, Stella, Rincón.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,800 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 190,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 8,500× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 6,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,800 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.9× more

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 · 48 km N of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 44 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 20 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 32 km N of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 41 km N 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 18.2640, -67.1880. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Añasco Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) NW earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) N earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) SSE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) NE earthquakes near Moca Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) E earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.3 35 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.0 8 km NW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 Mona Passage
  4. 3.0 45 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 24 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.6 26 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 2 km ESE of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 11 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.1 4 km SW of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.6 4 km ENE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.1 9 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 7 km W of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 2 km SW of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 4 km NNW of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.3 1 km NW of Maria Antonia, 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.