QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2md

Earthquake near Culebra, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Culebra in the last 24 hours. M 2.9, 25 km (15 mi) ENE of Culebra, at 6:51 am AST on 11 November 2026 (10:51 UTC); the estimated shaking in Culebra was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Culebra

This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 26 km (16 mi) northwest of Culebra, PR, at 5:13 pm AST on 21 May 2018 (21:13 UTC), 112 km deep.

USGS: 26 km NW of Culebra, Puerto Rico

66 km (41 mi) E of San Juan, PR · 57 km (35 mi) E of Carolina, PR

5:13 pm AST, May 21, 2018 · · 112 km deep · released about 2,000 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Culebra Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fajardo Municipio 19 kmCulebra Municipio 24 kmLuquillo Municipio 31 kmCeiba Municipio 32 kmRío Grande Municipio 39 kmVieques Municipio 41 kmNaguabo Municipio 44 kmCanóvanas Municipio 50 kmLoíza Municipio 53 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
5:13 pm AST on 21 May 2018 ()
Where
26 km (16 mi) northwest of Culebra, PR · earthquakes near Culebra
Magnitude
M 3.2 (md)
Depth
112 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fajardo Municipio, 19 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3004 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Culebra, 26 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: Fajardo, Luis M. Cintron.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 2,000 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 170,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,700× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,400× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 2,000 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.1× 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

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 18.4940, -65.4468. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fajardo Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) SW earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Culebra Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) SE earthquakes near Culebra Municipio
Luquillo Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) WSW earthquakes near Luquillo Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) SW earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio
Río Grande Municipio, PR 39 km (24 mi) WSW earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio
Vieques Municipio, PR 41 km (25 mi) S earthquakes near Vieques Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 Puerto Rico region
  2. 2.6 44 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  3. 2.7 70 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.2 39 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 36 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 68 km SSW of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.9 37 km NNE of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.1 61 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 57 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  11. 2.4 13 km NE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.3 61 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.7 24 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.0 67 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.1 62 km N 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.