QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.3md

Earthquake near Emajagua, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Emajagua in the 24 hours to 1:46 pm AST (17:46 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 7 km (5 mi) ESE, at 2:59 pm AST on 4 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Emajagua

This page: a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) south of Emajagua, PR, at 8:56 am AST on 31 January 2022 (12:56 UTC), 48 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 18 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico

66 km (41 mi) SSE of San Juan, PR · 47 km (29 mi) SSE of Caguas, PR

8:56 am AST, Jan 31, 2022 · · 48 km deep · released about 1.3 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Emajagua Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Maunabo Municipio 18 kmPatillas Municipio 22 kmArroyo Municipio 23 kmYabucoa Municipio 25 kmGuayama Municipio 32 kmHumacao Municipio 35 kmSan Lorenzo Municipio 36 kmLas Piedras Municipio 39 kmCayey Municipio 42 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
8:56 am AST on 31 January 2022 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) south of Emajagua, PR · earthquakes near Emajagua
Magnitude
M 3.3 (md)
Depth
48 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Maunabo Municipio, 18 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1558 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 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Emajagua, 18 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: Emajagua 18 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.3 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.7× 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 4.6 on 2016-12-05 — about 92 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 17.8358, -65.8756. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Maunabo Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) N earthquakes near Maunabo Municipio
Patillas Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) NNW earthquakes near Patillas Municipio
Arroyo Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) NW earthquakes near Arroyo Municipio
Yabucoa Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) N earthquakes near Yabucoa Municipio
Guayama Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guayama Municipio
Humacao Municipio, PR 35 km (22 mi) NNE earthquakes near Humacao Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 23 km S of Arroyo, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.4 7 km SSE of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 2 km SE of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 5 km ESE of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 8 km SSW of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 3 km SSE of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 2 km SSE of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 0 km N of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 3 km ESE of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.0 54 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 22 km SSW of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.0 4 km S of G. L. Garcia, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.3 10 km S of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.3 12 km SW of Central Aguirre, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.9 1 km ESE of Salinas, 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.