QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1md

Earthquake near Esperanza, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Esperanza in the 24 hours to 12:58 pm AST (16:58 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 23 km (14 mi) SE, at 12:08 pm AST on 29 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Esperanza

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) west of Esperanza, PR, at 1:15 am AST on 9 March 2018 (05:15 UTC), 3.0 km deep.

USGS: 4 km W of Esperanza, Puerto Rico

68 km (42 mi) ESE of San Juan, PR · 58 km (36 mi) ESE of Caguas, PR

1:15 am AST, Mar 9, 2018 · · 3.0 km deep · released about 1,200 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Esperanza Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vieques Municipio 8 kmCeiba Municipio 20 kmNaguabo Municipio 27 kmHumacao Municipio 30 kmFajardo Municipio 33 kmCulebra Municipio 33 kmLuquillo Municipio 36 kmYabucoa Municipio 37 kmLas Piedras Municipio 39 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
1:15 am AST on 9 March 2018 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) west of Esperanza, PR · earthquakes near Esperanza
Magnitude
M 3.1 (md)
Depth
3.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Vieques Municipio, 8 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3169 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 40 km (25 mi) from the epicentre. In Esperanza, 4 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Esperanza 4 km, intensity III · Isabel Segunda 9 km, intensity III · Aguas Claras 23 km, intensity II · Fajardo 29 km, intensity II · Culebra 31 km, intensity II · Humacao 34 km, intensity II · Luquillo 37 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,200 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 280,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 12,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 8,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,200 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.3× more

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 200 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 18.1031, -65.5083. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vieques Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) ENE earthquakes near Vieques Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) NW earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio
Naguabo Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) WNW earthquakes near Naguabo Municipio
Humacao Municipio, PR 30 km (18 mi) W earthquakes near Humacao Municipio
Fajardo Municipio, PR 33 km (20 mi) NNW earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Culebra Municipio, PR 33 km (20 mi) NE earthquakes near Culebra Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 6 km SSW of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.7 8 km NNE of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.7 8 km S of Palo Seco, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.7 10 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 11 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.9 23 km S of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 9 km SSE of Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.7 16 km SSW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 31 km SSW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  10. 1.9 9 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.6 3 km S of Palo Seco, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.7 8 km SSW of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.7 10 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.9 8 km SE of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.2 26 km NW of Culebra, 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.