QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tierras Nuevas Poniente in the 24 hours to 5:42 pm AST (21:42 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 17 km (11 mi) WNW, at 2:05 am AST on 13 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) east of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR, at 2:29 am AST on 7 December 2017 (06:29 UTC), 97 km deep.

USGS: 3 km E of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico

42 km (26 mi) W of San Juan, PR · 30 km (18 mi) E of Arecibo, PR

2:29 am AST, Dec 7, 2017 · · 97 km deep · released about 430 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Manatí Municipio 4 kmVega Baja Municipio 6 kmBarceloneta Municipio 11 kmVega Alta Municipio 13 kmFlorida Municipio 15 kmMorovis Municipio 16 kmCiales Municipio 20 kmDorado Municipio 20 kmCorozal Municipio 22 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
2:29 am AST on 7 December 2017 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) east of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR · earthquakes near Tierras Nuevas Poniente
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
97 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Manatí Municipio, 4 km WSW
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 Tierras Nuevas Poniente, 4 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Coto Norte, Manatí, La Luisa, Vega Baja, Barceloneta, Sabana.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 430 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 35,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 25,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 430 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. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 16 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 40 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 13 km ENE 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 18.4615, -66.4543. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Manatí Municipio, PR 4 km (3 mi) WSW earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) E earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) W earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) ESE earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 15 km (10 mi) SW earthquakes near Florida Municipio
Morovis Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) SSE earthquakes near Morovis Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 4 km W of Ciales, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 4 km NNE of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.9 2 km WNW of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  5. 3.1 10 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.1 8 km NNW of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.1 18 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.2 40 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.0 6 km SSE of Lares, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 33 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.7 9 km W of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.2 41 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.7 26 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.3 5 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.9 1 km WSW of Cataño, 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.