QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1md

Earthquake near Hatillo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Hatillo in the 24 hours to 5:48 pm AST (21:48 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 40 km (25 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Hatillo

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) north-northeast of Hatillo, PR, at 5:28 am AST on 6 December 2017 (09:28 UTC), 93 km deep.

USGS: 4 km NNE of Hatillo, Puerto Rico

11 km (7 mi) NW of Arecibo, PR · 80 km (50 mi) W of San Juan, PR

5:28 am AST, Dec 6, 2017 · · 93 km deep · released about 1,500 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hatillo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hatillo Municipio 9 kmCamuy Municipio 10 kmQuebradillas Municipio 14 kmArecibo Municipio 17 kmIsabela Municipio 22 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 27 kmBarceloneta Municipio 27 kmLares Municipio 28 kmUtuado Municipio 30 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
5:28 am AST on 6 December 2017 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) north-northeast of Hatillo, PR · earthquakes near Hatillo
Magnitude
M 3.1 (md)
Depth
93 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hatillo Municipio, 9 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3179 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Hatillo, 4 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: Carrizales, Camuy, Corcovado, Rafael Gonzalez, Arecibo, Piedra Gorda.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,500 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 220,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 9,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 6,900× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,500 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.6× 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 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 45 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 43 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 44 km W of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 41 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 26 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 18.5200, -66.8115. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hatillo Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) S earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) SSW earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 14 km (8 mi) WSW earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) ESE earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 22 km (13 mi) W earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
San Sebastián Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) SW earthquakes near San Sebastián Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 2 km ESE of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 21 km NNW of Camuy, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 1 km SSE of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.7 9 km W of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.2 5 km NE of San Germán, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.5 48 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.2 21 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.7 26 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 5 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.8 5 km NE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.6 5 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.9 8 km NNE of Animas, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.7 10 km NNW of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.0 1 km E of Barceloneta, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.0 11 km N of Camuy, 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.