QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near La Playa, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in La Playa in the 24 hours to 9:59 pm AST (01:59 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 28 km (17 mi) WSW, at 12:57 am AST on 19 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near La Playa

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) southwest of La Playa, PR, at 7:42 am AST on 17 October 2020 (11:42 UTC), 24 km deep. 3 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 9 km SW of La Playa, Puerto Rico

11 km (7 mi) W of Mayagüez, PR · 126 km (78 mi) W of San Juan, PR

7:42 am AST, Oct 17, 2020 · · 24 km deep · released about 1,100 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near La Playa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 14 kmAñasco Municipio 14 kmHormigueros Municipio 16 kmAguada Municipio 19 kmSan Germán Municipio 25 kmMoca Municipio 25 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 25 kmLas Marías Municipio 28 kmAguadilla Municipio 31 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
7:42 am AST on 17 October 2020 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) southwest of La Playa, PR · earthquakes near La Playa
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
24 km below the surface
Felt
3 reports · strongest reported intensity V
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 14 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2143 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 30 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In La Playa, 10 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.

Likely felt in: Mayagüez 11 km, intensity II · Rincón 14 km, intensity II · Puerto Real 17 km, intensity II · Aguada 19 km, intensity II · Aguadilla 25 km, intensity II · San Germán 26 km, intensity II · Pole Ojea 27 km, intensity II · San Sebastián 30 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 310,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 14,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 9,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,100 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 5.3 on 2020-07-03 — about 2,500 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 47 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 25 km N of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 37 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 47 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 27 km NE 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 18.2163, -67.2411. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) N earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) NE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) SE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NNE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) ESE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) NE earthquakes near Moca Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.2 4 km ESE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.2 4 km SE of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 7 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 7 km ESE of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 1 km NW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.3 8 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 6 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 2 km NW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.1 4 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.1 4 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.4 5 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 5 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.8 6 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 4 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.9 6 km SW of Las Marías, 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.