QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near Rincón, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Rincón in the 24 hours to 5:29 pm AST (21:29 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 53 km (33 mi) NNE, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Rincón

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) west-southwest of Rincón, PR, at 5:03 am AST on 12 September 2017 (09:03 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 45 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico

54 km (33 mi) W of Mayagüez, PR · 110 km (69 mi) W of Ponce, PR

5:03 am AST, Sep 12, 2017 · · 12 km deep · released about 990 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Rincón Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mayagüez Municipio 27 kmRincón Municipio 46 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 53 kmAguada Municipio 54 kmAñasco Municipio 56 kmHormigueros Municipio 57 kmAguadilla Municipio 63 kmMoca Municipio 64 kmSan Germán Municipio 65 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
5:03 am AST on 12 September 2017 ()
Where
46 km (29 mi) west-southwest of Rincón, PR · earthquakes near Rincón
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mayagüez Municipio, 27 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3256 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 Rincón, 46 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 990 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 6.7 340,000× 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 11,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 990 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. 6.3 58 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 42 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 30 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 30 km E 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 18.1753, -67.6503. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 46 km (29 mi) ENE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 53 km (33 mi) ESE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 54 km (33 mi) ENE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 56 km (35 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 57 km (35 mi) E earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 Mona Passage
  2. 2.3 18 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 7 km WSW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 51 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  5. 2.7 7 km W of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 6 km W of Stella, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.1 Mona Passage
  8. 2.5 37 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.0 9 km WSW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 10 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.9 Puerto Rico region
  12. 2.5 16 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 Mona Passage
  14. 3.1 17 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.6 Mona Passage

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.