QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Culebra, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Culebra in the last 24 hours. M 2.9, 25 km (15 mi) ENE of Culebra, at 6:51 am AST on 11 November 2026 (10:51 UTC); the estimated shaking in Culebra was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Culebra

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 17 km (11 mi) west of Culebra, PR, at 11:55 am AST on 17 August 2017 (15:55 UTC), 21 km deep.

USGS: 16 km W of Culebra, Puerto Rico

64 km (40 mi) E of San Juan, PR · 56 km (35 mi) ESE of Carolina, PR

11:55 am AST, Aug 17, 2017 · · 21 km deep · released about 35 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Culebra Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fajardo Municipio 16 kmCulebra Municipio 16 kmCeiba Municipio 18 kmVieques Municipio 21 kmLuquillo Municipio 27 kmNaguabo Municipio 31 kmRío Grande Municipio 36 kmHumacao Municipio 39 kmCanóvanas Municipio 45 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
11:55 am AST on 17 August 2017 ()
Where
17 km (11 mi) west of Culebra, PR · earthquakes near Culebra
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
21 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fajardo Municipio, 16 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3373 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 Culebra, 17 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Isabel Segunda, Luis M. Cintron, Fajardo, Aguas Claras, Esperanza, Daguao.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 35 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 440,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 310,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 28× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 35 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 4.3 on 2016-09-02 — about 2,500 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 18.3095, -65.4616. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fajardo Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) WNW earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Culebra Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) E earthquakes near Culebra Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) WSW earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio
Vieques Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) S earthquakes near Vieques Municipio
Luquillo Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) WNW earthquakes near Luquillo Municipio
Naguabo Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) WSW earthquakes near Naguabo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.2 7 km WSW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  2. 2.8 15 km NNE of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.1 6 km S of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 1 km S of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.1 35 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.0 20 km NNW of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.3 29 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.7 13 km W of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.3 31 km NW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  10. 2.3 2 km ESE of Humacao, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.1 4 km W of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.9 37 km NE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.8 19 km SSW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.3 9 km SE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 21 km SE of Esperanza, 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.