QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Stella, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Stella in the 24 hours to 5:21 am AST (09:21 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 55 km (34 mi) NNE, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Stella

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) southwest of Stella, PR, at 5:38 am AST on 18 December 2017 (09:38 UTC), 8.0 km deep.

USGS: 16 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico

20 km (13 mi) W of Mayagüez, PR · 136 km (85 mi) W of San Juan, PR

5:38 am AST, Dec 18, 2017 · · 8.0 km deep · released about 160 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Stella Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 17 kmAñasco Municipio 23 kmHormigueros Municipio 24 kmAguada Municipio 25 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 28 kmMoca Municipio 33 kmSan Germán Municipio 33 kmAguadilla Municipio 37 kmLas Marías Municipio 38 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
5:38 am AST on 18 December 2017 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) southwest of Stella, PR · earthquakes near Stella
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
8.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 17 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3250 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Stella, 16 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.

Likely felt in: Rincón 18 km, intensity II · Mayagüez 21 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 160 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 95,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 68,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 160 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2017-10-14 — about 540 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 46 km N of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 29 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 40 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 35 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 4 km WSW 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 18.2041, -67.3346. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) NNE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 23 km (15 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) ESE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) NE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 28 km (18 mi) SE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 33 km (21 mi) NE earthquakes near Moca Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 17 km NNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 2 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 Mona Passage
  4. 1.9 1 km SSE of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.7 5 km NE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.7 8 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 5 km SSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.6 3 km WSW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 5 km NE of San Germán, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.7 20 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 43 km WSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.7 0 km WSW of Lajas, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 3 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.7 19 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.8 5 km NE of Maricao, 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.