QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Carolina, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Carolina in the 24 hours to 4:07 am AST (08:07 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 81 km (50 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 Carolina

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) south-southeast of Carolina, PR, at 1:40 pm AST on 17 January 2018 (17:40 UTC), 35 km deep.

USGS: 3 km SSE of Carolina, Puerto Rico

14 km (9 mi) ESE of San Juan, PR · 7 km (5 mi) SSE of Carolina, PR

1:40 pm AST, Jan 17, 2018 · · 35 km deep · released about 36 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Carolina Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Carolina Municipio 5 kmCanóvanas Municipio 7 kmTrujillo Alto Municipio 7 kmLoíza Municipio 10 kmGurabo Municipio 10 kmJuncos Municipio 15 kmSan Juan Municipio 15 kmRío Grande Municipio 15 kmGuaynabo Municipio 18 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
1:40 pm AST on 17 January 2018 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) south-southeast of Carolina, PR · earthquakes near Carolina
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
35 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Carolina Municipio, 5 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3220 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 Carolina, 3 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: Santa Barbara, Canovanas, Campo Rico, Trujillo Alto, San Isidro, La Dolores.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 36 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 420,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 27× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 36 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 4.6 on 2016-12-05 — about 6,700 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 23 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 45 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 18.3555, -65.9428. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Carolina Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) NNW earthquakes near Carolina Municipio
Canóvanas Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) ESE earthquakes near Canóvanas Municipio
Trujillo Alto Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) WSW earthquakes near Trujillo Alto Municipio
Loíza Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) N earthquakes near Loíza Municipio
Gurabo Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) SSW earthquakes near Gurabo Municipio
Juncos Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) SSE earthquakes near Juncos 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.

  1. 2.2 6 km SSW of Lamboglia, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 5 km S of Palmas, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 2 km N of Yaurel, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.7 3 km S of Palmas, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 7 km SSW of Lamboglia, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.9 6 km SSW of Lamboglia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.7 22 km NNW of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.8 15 km NNE of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 1 km WNW of Campanilla, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.8 6 km SE of G. L. Garcia, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.2 4 km SW of Comerío, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.0 20 km N of Loíza, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 2 km NW of Bayamon, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 35 km NNE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 5 km SE of Pájaros, 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.