Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.9md
Virgin Islands
Yes. A magnitude 3.9 earthquake was recorded in the Virgin Islands, at 1:46 pm AST on 31 May 2020 (17:46 UTC), 28 km deep. 44 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 3.9 (md)
- Depth
- 28 km below the surface
- Felt
- 44 reports · strongest reported intensity V
- Nearest
- Culebra Municipio, 106 km SSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2279 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 83 km (52 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 10 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 17,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 760× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 540× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.9 about 10 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 21× 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 in our catalogue was M 4.8 on 2019-02-18 — about 24 times the energy of this one.
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 19.1940, -64.8928. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Culebra Municipio, PR | 106 km (66 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Culebra Municipio |
| Fajardo Municipio, PR | 116 km (72 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio |
| Luquillo Municipio, PR | 126 km (78 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Luquillo Municipio |
| Ceiba Municipio, PR | 130 km (81 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio |
| Vieques Municipio, PR | 132 km (82 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Vieques Municipio |
| Río Grande Municipio, PR | 132 km (82 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
38 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.4 66 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 3.5 69 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 3.4 Puerto Rico region
- 3.2 97 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 3.2 112 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 3.4 98 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
- 3.6 104 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 4.7 105 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 3.6 82 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 3.4 60 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 3.1 71 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
- 3.3 65 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 4.5 71 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 3.5 73 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
- 3.6 69 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
- 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.