QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near San Juan, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in San Juan in the 24 hours to 3:10 am AST (07:10 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 99 km (62 mi) SE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near San Juan

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 30 km (19 mi) southwest of San Juan, PR, at 3:09 am AST on 15 August 2017 (07:09 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 6 km NW of Palomas, Puerto Rico

29 km (18 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR · 19 km (12 mi) SW of Bayamón, PR

3:09 am AST, Aug 15, 2017 · · 14 km deep · released about 1,000 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near San Juan Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Corozal Municipio 5 kmNaranjito Municipio 6 kmBarranquitas Municipio 8 kmComerío Municipio 10 kmToa Alta Municipio 12 kmMorovis Municipio 14 kmOrocovis Municipio 15 kmAibonito Municipio 16 kmBayamón Municipio 17 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
3:09 am AST on 15 August 2017 ()
Where
30 km (19 mi) southwest of San Juan, PR · earthquakes near San Juan
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Corozal Municipio, 5 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3285 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 35 km (22 mi) from the epicentre. In San Juan, 30 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.

Likely felt in: Corozal 8 km, intensity III · Sumidero 19 km, intensity II · Ciales 19 km, intensity II · San Antonio 20 km, intensity II · Bayamón 21 km, intensity II · Dorado 21 km, intensity II · Vega Baja 22 km, intensity II · Coamo 22 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,000 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 330,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 15,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 10,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,000 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 43 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 17 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 26 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 18.2683, -66.3003. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Corozal Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) NW earthquakes near Corozal Municipio
Naranjito Municipio, PR 6 km (3 mi) ENE earthquakes near Naranjito Municipio
Barranquitas Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) S earthquakes near Barranquitas Municipio
Comerío Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) ESE earthquakes near Comerío Municipio
Toa Alta Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) NNE earthquakes near Toa Alta Municipio
Morovis Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) WNW earthquakes near Morovis Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 5 km SW of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.3 4 km NE of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 2 km NNW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.7 2 km NW of Candelero Arriba, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 4 km SSE of Cayey, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 3 km NNW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.6 1 km E of Capitanejo, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.7 11 km S of Jauca, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.4 1 km SSW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.2 6 km SSE of Jauca, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.9 7 km S of Jauca, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.1 12 km S of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.1 Puerto Rico region
  14. 3.3 12 km NNE of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 5 km E of Bayamon, 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.