Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9md
114 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
Yes. A magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 114 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico, at 9:55 pm AST on 5 January 2020 (01:55 UTC), 31 km deep.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (md)
- Depth
- 31 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Aguadilla Municipio, 114 km SSE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2458 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. 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 650 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 23,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.5× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 650 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 6.0 on 2019-09-24 — about 46,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.8 94 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 37 km SSW of this epicentre
- 6.1 80 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 49 km SW of this epicentre
- 6.0 93 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 32 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.7 88 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 37 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.2 90 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 41 km WSW 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 19.4286, -67.5636. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aguadilla Municipio, PR | 114 km (71 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio |
| Isabela Municipio, PR | 120 km (74 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Isabela Municipio |
| Aguada Municipio, PR | 124 km (77 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Aguada Municipio |
| Quebradillas Municipio, PR | 126 km (78 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio |
| Moca Municipio, PR | 127 km (79 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Moca Municipio |
| Camuy Municipio, PR | 132 km (82 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Camuy Municipio |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
39 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 86 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
- 2.5 89 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
- 2.6 81 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- 3.3 82 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
- 3.5 91 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
- 2.8 85 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
- 2.8 80 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
- 2.7 81 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
- 3.1 82 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- 3.1 96 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
- 3.0 88 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
- 2.1 Mona Passage
- 3.1 84 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
- 2.6 88 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
- 3.0 83 km NE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.