QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.6md

Earthquake near Emajagua, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Emajagua in the last 24 hours. M 2.9, 23 km (14 mi) SE of Emajagua, at 5:20 pm AST on 11 November 2026 (21:20 UTC); the estimated shaking in Emajagua was intensity II (weak). 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. Every earthquake near Emajagua

This page: a magnitude 3.6 earthquake was recorded 22 km (14 mi) east-southeast of Emajagua, PR, at 8:36 am AST on 16 January 2022 (12:36 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 21 km ESE of Emajagua, Puerto Rico

68 km (42 mi) SSE of San Juan, PR · 51 km (32 mi) SE of Caguas, PR

8:36 am AST, Jan 16, 2022 · · 10 km deep · released about 3.7 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Emajagua Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Maunabo Municipio 23 kmYabucoa Municipio 25 kmHumacao Municipio 28 kmPatillas Municipio 32 kmNaguabo Municipio 35 kmArroyo Municipio 36 kmLas Piedras Municipio 37 kmVieques Municipio 39 kmSan Lorenzo Municipio 40 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
8:36 am AST on 16 January 2022 ()
Where
22 km (14 mi) east-southeast of Emajagua, PR · earthquakes near Emajagua
Magnitude
M 3.6 (md)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Maunabo Municipio, 23 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1685 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 68 km (42 mi) from the epicentre. In Emajagua, 22 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Emajagua 22 km, intensity III · Humacao 31 km, intensity II · Esperanza 34 km, intensity II · Isabel Segunda 40 km, intensity II · Aguas Claras 40 km, intensity II · Jagual 43 km, intensity II · Guayama 44 km, intensity II · Fajardo 48 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 3.7 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 46,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.6 about 3.7 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 7.7× 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 since 2016 was M 4.8 on 2021-10-08 — about 65 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 17.8930, -65.7081. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Maunabo Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) WNW earthquakes near Maunabo Municipio
Yabucoa Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) NW earthquakes near Yabucoa Municipio
Humacao Municipio, PR 28 km (18 mi) NNW earthquakes near Humacao Municipio
Patillas Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) WNW earthquakes near Patillas Municipio
Naguabo Municipio, PR 35 km (22 mi) N earthquakes near Naguabo Municipio
Arroyo Municipio, PR 36 km (23 mi) WNW earthquakes near Arroyo 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.

  1. 3.0 28 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.7 4 km E of Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.1 5 km ESE of Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 18 km SW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.9 13 km SE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.3 27 km SSE of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.6 5 km WNW of Jagual, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.8 17 km SSE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 23 km S of Arroyo, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 7 km SSE of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 2 km SE of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 5 km ESE of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 3 km SSE of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 2 km SSE of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 3 km ESE of Jobos, 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.