QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.3md

135 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico

Yes. A magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 135 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico, at 9:32 pm AST on 30 August 2017 (01:32 UTC), 50 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

· 50 km deep · released about 1.4 tons of TNT

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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
Magnitude
M 3.3 (md)
Depth
50 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1557 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 17 km (11 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.4 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 120,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,400× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 3,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.4 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.9× 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 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.1 122 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico · 27 km SE of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 92 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico · 46 km SW 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 19.5991, -65.4743. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.3 110 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  2. 3.3 180 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.3 122 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.4 139 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.5 144 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  6. 3.4 151 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  7. 3.5 102 km NNE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.3 98 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.3 111 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  10. 3.4 107 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  11. 3.4 116 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  12. 4.5 109 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.3 117 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  14. 3.4 125 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.7 115 km N of Culebra, 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.