QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7md

98 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico

Yes. A magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 98 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico, at 9:03 pm AST on 13 September 2019 (01:03 UTC), 62 km deep.

· 62 km deep · released about 340 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Culebra Municipio 96 kmFajardo Municipio 97 kmLuquillo Municipio 104 kmRío Grande Municipio 108 kmLoíza Municipio 112 kmCeiba Municipio 112 kmCarolina Municipio 118 kmCanóvanas Municipio 118 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
Magnitude
M 2.7 (md)
Depth
62 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Culebra Municipio, 96 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2533 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. 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 340 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 32,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 340 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 4.8 on 2019-02-18 — about 1,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.1 91 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands · 41 km E of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 112 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands · 36 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.6 112 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands · 40 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 107 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands · 32 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 122 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico · 26 km NNW 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 19.1873, -65.2263. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Culebra Municipio, PR 96 km (60 mi) S earthquakes near Culebra Municipio
Fajardo Municipio, PR 97 km (60 mi) SSW earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Luquillo Municipio, PR 104 km (65 mi) SSW earthquakes near Luquillo Municipio
Río Grande Municipio, PR 108 km (67 mi) SW earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio
Loíza Municipio, PR 112 km (69 mi) SW earthquakes near Loíza Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 112 km (70 mi) SSW earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.2 Puerto Rico region
  2. 3.9 125 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  3. 3.4 84 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  4. 3.3 119 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  5. 3.2 124 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  6. 3.1 62 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  7. 2.7 Puerto Rico region
  8. 3.0 120 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 62 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 66 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 62 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 52 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.9 86 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  14. 2.7 87 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.0 88 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.