QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near San Juan, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in San Juan in the 24 hours to 3:06 pm AST (19:06 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 99 km (62 mi) SE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near San Juan

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) southwest of San Juan, PR, at 1:41 am AST on 24 December 2017 (05:41 UTC), 32 km deep.

USGS: 5 km SW of Orocovis, Puerto Rico

45 km (28 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR · 30 km (19 mi) NE of Ponce, PR

1:41 am AST, Dec 24, 2017 · · 32 km deep · released about 110 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near San Juan Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Orocovis Municipio 2 kmVillalba Municipio 9 kmBarranquitas Municipio 13 kmCoamo Municipio 13 kmMorovis Municipio 13 kmCiales Municipio 14 kmCorozal Municipio 16 kmJayuya Municipio 17 kmAibonito Municipio 19 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
1:41 am AST on 24 December 2017 ()
Where
45 km (28 mi) southwest of San Juan, PR · earthquakes near San Juan
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
32 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Orocovis Municipio, 2 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3244 days ago

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. In San Juan, 45 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: Villalba, Barranquitas, Morovis, Guayabal, Coamo, Franquez.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 110 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 95,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 8.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 110 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 · 43 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 32 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 35 km NNE 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 18.1976, -66.4303. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Orocovis Municipio, PR 2 km (2 mi) NNW earthquakes near Orocovis Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 9 km (5 mi) SSW earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Barranquitas Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) E earthquakes near Barranquitas Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) SE earthquakes near Coamo Municipio
Morovis Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) N earthquakes near Morovis Municipio
Ciales Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) NW earthquakes near Ciales Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.1 18 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.0 6 km SSE of Lares, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 7 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 11 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.7 10 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 9 km NNE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.2 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.5 10 km S of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.6 8 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.8 8 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 7 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 8 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.9 11 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.3 9 km SSW 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.