Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.6md
Earthquake near Capitanejo, PR
No earthquake was likely felt in Capitanejo in the 24 hours to 12:06 pm AST (16:06 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 35 km (22 mi) WSW, at 3:45 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Capitanejo
This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded in Capitanejo, PR, at 8:08 pm AST on 19 December 2017 (00:08 UTC), 16 km deep.
USGS: 1 km E of Capitanejo, Puerto Rico
11 km (7 mi) E of Ponce, PR
- When
- 8:08 pm AST on 19 December 2017 ()
- Where
- in Capitanejo, PR · earthquakes near Capitanejo
- Magnitude
- M 1.6 (md)
- Depth
- 16 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Juana Díaz Municipio, 3 km SE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3249 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Capitanejo, PR
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. 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: Aguilita, Potala Pastillo, Juana Díaz, Luis Llorens Torres, Coto Laurel, Río Cañas Abajo.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 8.1 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.1 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 49 km NE 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 18.0158, -66.5170. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Juana Díaz Municipio, PR | 3 km (2 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio |
| Ponce Municipio, PR | 10 km (6 mi) | W | earthquakes near Ponce Municipio |
| Villalba Municipio, PR | 14 km (8 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Villalba Municipio |
| Santa Isabel Municipio, PR | 15 km (10 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio |
| Coamo Municipio, PR | 19 km (12 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Coamo Municipio |
| Peñuelas Municipio, PR | 22 km (14 mi) | W | earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
41 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.2 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
- 1.5 10 km S of Jobos, Puerto Rico
- 1.6 8 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
- 1.8 8 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
- 2.0 7 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
- 2.3 8 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
- 2.5 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
- 1.9 11 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
- 2.3 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
- 2.1 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
- 2.1 8 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
- 2.1 8 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
- 2.3 11 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
- 2.7 24 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
- 2.1 3 km SW of Tallaboa, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.