QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.6md

Earthquake near Sabana Seca, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Sabana Seca in the 24 hours to 4:21 pm AST (20:21 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 97 km (60 mi) SW, at 9:19 am AST on 18 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Sabana Seca

This page: a magnitude 3.6 earthquake was recorded in Sabana Seca, PR, at 5:19 pm AST on 23 May 2022 (21:19 UTC), 114 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 0 km E of Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico

6 km (3 mi) NNW of Bayamón, PR

5:19 pm AST, May 23, 2022 · · 114 km deep · released about 3.9 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Sabana Seca Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Toa Baja Municipio 4 kmCataño Municipio 4 kmBayamón Municipio 9 kmToa Alta Municipio 10 kmDorado Municipio 10 kmGuaynabo Municipio 12 kmSan Juan Municipio 12 kmVega Alta Municipio 17 kmNaranjito Municipio 17 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
5:19 pm AST on 23 May 2022 ()
Where
in Sabana Seca, PR · earthquakes near Sabana Seca
Magnitude
M 3.6 (md)
Depth
114 km below the surface
Felt
4 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Toa Baja Municipio, 4 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1562 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Levittown, Candelaria, Bayamón, Candelaria Arenas, Ingenio, Mucarabones.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 3.9 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 43,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.6 about 3.9 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 8.2× 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 4.4 on 2018-12-09 — about 15 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 43 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 19 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 19 km WNW 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 18.4278, -66.1793. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 4 km (2 mi) NNW earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio
Cataño Municipio, PR 4 km (2 mi) ENE earthquakes near Cataño Municipio
Bayamón Municipio, PR 9 km (5 mi) S earthquakes near Bayamón Municipio
Toa Alta Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) SW earthquakes near Toa Alta Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) WNW earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Guaynabo Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) SE earthquakes near Guaynabo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 3 km SW of Naranjito, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.4 1 km SSW of Pájaros, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.5 3 km S of Animas, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.8 13 km N of Levittown, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.5 1 km NNW of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.6 5 km WNW of Jagual, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 6 km ESE of Villalba, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.7 2 km ESE of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.1 4 km SSE of Cayey, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.2 18 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 2 km SW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.0 8 km NNW of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.3 1 km SE of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.7 4 km ENE of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.1 32 km N of San Juan, 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.