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 47 km (29 mi) north of Culebra, PR, at 3:40 am AST on 7 September 2019 (07:40 UTC), 54 km deep.

USGS: 46 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico

93 km (58 mi) ENE of San Juan, PR

3:40 am AST, Sep 7, 2019 · · 54 km deep · released about 1,700 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Culebra Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Culebra Municipio 45 kmFajardo Municipio 52 kmLuquillo Municipio 63 kmCeiba Municipio 66 kmVieques Municipio 69 kmRío Grande Municipio 70 kmNaguabo Municipio 77 kmLoíza Municipio 80 kmCanóvanas Municipio 80 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
3:40 am AST on 7 September 2019 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) north of Culebra, PR · earthquakes near Culebra
Magnitude
M 3.2 (md)
Depth
54 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Culebra Municipio, 45 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2622 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, 47 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,700 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 6.7 200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 8,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 6,200× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,700 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.8× 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 4.3 on 2016-09-04 — about 50 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.0 73 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico · 41 km NW 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 18.7233, -65.2461. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Culebra Municipio, PR 45 km (28 mi) S earthquakes near Culebra Municipio
Fajardo Municipio, PR 52 km (32 mi) SW earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Luquillo Municipio, PR 63 km (39 mi) SW earthquakes near Luquillo Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 66 km (41 mi) SW earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio
Vieques Municipio, PR 69 km (43 mi) SSW earthquakes near Vieques Municipio
Río Grande Municipio, PR 70 km (43 mi) WSW earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 33 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  2. 3.2 Puerto Rico region
  3. 2.6 21 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  4. 3.1 62 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  5. 2.2 62 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.5 66 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.8 62 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 52 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.9 86 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  10. 2.7 87 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.0 88 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  12. 2.6 74 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.1 84 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.1 81 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 65 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands

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.