QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Salinas, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Salinas in the 24 hours to 11:19 pm AST (03:19 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 8 km (5 mi) NW, at 5:05 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Salinas

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded in Salinas, PR, at 7:45 pm AST on 22 May 2021 (23:45 UTC), 11 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 1 km ENE of Salinas, Puerto Rico

52 km (32 mi) SSW of San Juan, PR · 36 km (22 mi) E of Ponce, PR

7:45 pm AST, May 22, 2021 · · 11 km deep · released about 100 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Salinas Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Salinas Municipio 3 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 12 kmCoamo Municipio 15 kmGuayama Municipio 15 kmAibonito Municipio 16 kmCayey Municipio 19 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 22 kmBarranquitas Municipio 24 kmCidra Municipio 24 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
7:45 pm AST on 22 May 2021 ()
Where
in Salinas, PR · earthquakes near Salinas
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Salinas Municipio, 3 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1556 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 17 km (11 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.

Likely felt in: Coamo 13 km, intensity II · Santa Isabel 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 140,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 9.1× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 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 5.6 on 2020-01-07 — about 72,000 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 34 km NNE 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 17.9865, -66.2825. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Salinas Municipio, PR 3 km (2 mi) SE earthquakes near Salinas Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) WSW earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NNW earthquakes near Coamo Municipio
Guayama Municipio, PR 15 km (10 mi) E earthquakes near Guayama Municipio
Aibonito Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) N earthquakes near Aibonito Municipio
Cayey Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NE earthquakes near Cayey Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 9 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.9 3 km S of Peñuelas, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.2 5 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.2 7 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.7 4 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.9 2 km ESE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 2 km NNW of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.1 7 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 9 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.0 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 2 km ENE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 1 km N of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 4 km ENE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.1 3 km NW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.0 2 km NW of Tallaboa, 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.