QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

50 km S of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico

Yes. A magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 50 km S of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico, 78 km (48 mi) SW of Ponce, PR, at 8:47 am AST on 16 September 2017 (12:47 UTC), 8.0 km deep.

78 km (48 mi) SW of Ponce, PR

· 8.0 km deep · released about 190 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lajas Municipio 52 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 53 kmGuánica Municipio 54 kmGuayanilla Municipio 66 kmSabana Grande Municipio 67 kmSan Germán Municipio 67 kmHormigueros Municipio 69 kmYauco Municipio 70 kmPeñuelas Municipio 72 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
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
8.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lajas Municipio, 52 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3343 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 21 km (13 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 190 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 80,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 57,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.1× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 190 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 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 17.5196, -67.1556. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lajas Municipio, PR 52 km (33 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 53 km (33 mi) N earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 54 km (33 mi) NNE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 66 km (41 mi) NE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 67 km (41 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 67 km (41 mi) N earthquakes near San Germán Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 13 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.9 6 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.6 6 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 20 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 16 km SSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.2 4 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.2 23 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.9 17 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.8 16 km NNE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 16 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.6 20 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.7 8 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.0 5 km SSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.9 19 km SSE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.7 25 km S of La Parguera, 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.