QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Lajas, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Lajas in the 24 hours to 10:47 am AST (14:47 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 8 km (5 mi) SW, at 11:57 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Lajas

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded in Lajas, PR, at 5:53 am AST on 8 January 2018 (09:53 UTC), 4.0 km deep.

USGS: 0 km WSW of Lajas, Puerto Rico

19 km (12 mi) SSE of Mayagüez, PR · 113 km (70 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

5:53 am AST, Jan 8, 2018 · · 4.0 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Lajas Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Germán Municipio 7 kmLajas Municipio 8 kmHormigueros Municipio 11 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 13 kmSabana Grande Municipio 13 kmGuánica Municipio 19 kmMaricao Municipio 20 kmLas Marías Municipio 22 kmYauco Municipio 23 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
5:53 am AST on 8 January 2018 ()
Where
in Lajas, PR · earthquakes near Lajas
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
4.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Germán Municipio, 7 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3229 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. 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: San Germán 4 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 930,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 83× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 46 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 39 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 36 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 35 km WNW 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 18.0475, -67.0678. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Germán Municipio, PR 7 km (5 mi) NNE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) NNW earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) WSW earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) ENE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) SE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 4 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.0 6 km SSE of Lares, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.8 3 km NNE of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.7 11 km SW of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.0 1 km S of Sabana Eneas, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.2 2 km S of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.2 7 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.9 11 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.7 10 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.2 5 km SSW of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.2 23 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 9 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.0 9 km NNE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.2 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.6 8 km S 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.