QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1md

Earthquake near Bayamón, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Bayamón in the 24 hours to 3:33 pm AST (19:33 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 98 km (61 mi) WSW, at 9:19 am AST on 18 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Bayamón

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 9 km (6 mi) west-southwest of Bayamón, PR, at 7:21 am AST on 16 December 2017 (11:21 UTC), 63 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

8 km (5 mi) WSW of Bayamón, PR

7:21 am AST, Dec 16, 2017 · · 63 km deep · released about 1,300 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Bayamón Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Toa Alta Municipio 1 kmBayamón Municipio 7 kmNaranjito Municipio 8 kmToa Baja Municipio 11 kmCorozal Municipio 12 kmGuaynabo Municipio 13 kmCataño Municipio 13 kmDorado Municipio 13 kmVega Alta Municipio 14 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
7:21 am AST on 16 December 2017 ()
Where
9 km (6 mi) west-southwest of Bayamón, PR · earthquakes near Bayamón
Magnitude
M 3.1 (md)
Depth
63 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Toa Alta Municipio, 1 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3252 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 Bayamón, 9 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: Pájaros, Galateo, Toa Alta, Mucarabones, H. Rivera Colon, San José.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,300 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 6.7 260,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 12,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 8,200× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.4× 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.

Where

Epicentre 18.3626, -66.2325. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Toa Alta Municipio, PR 1 km (1 mi) W earthquakes near Toa Alta Municipio
Bayamón Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) ESE earthquakes near Bayamón Municipio
Naranjito Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) SSW earthquakes near Naranjito Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) NNE earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio
Corozal Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) WSW earthquakes near Corozal Municipio
Guaynabo Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) E earthquakes near Guaynabo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 1 km NE of Jauca, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.9 7 km WSW of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.2 6 km ENE of Jayuya, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.7 2 km SW of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 4 km W of Ciales, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.7 1 km S of G. L. Garcia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.8 4 km NNE of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.9 4 km SW of Gurabo, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.9 2 km WNW of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 5 km N of Yaurel, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  12. 3.0 4 km SE of G. L. Garcia, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.1 18 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.0 3 km SSE of Carolina, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.7 26 km NNW of Brenas, 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.