QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.4md

Virgin Islands

Yes. A magnitude 4.4 earthquake was recorded in the Virgin Islands, at 4:39 pm AST on 3 September 2022 (20:39 UTC), 135 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

· 135 km deep · released about 67 tons of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Culebra Municipio 74 kmVieques Municipio 88 kmFajardo Municipio 104 kmCeiba Municipio 107 kmLuquillo Municipio 116 kmNaguabo Municipio 119 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
Magnitude
M 4.4 (md)
Depth
135 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Culebra Municipio, 74 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1457 days ago

This was a light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.

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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 67 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 2,500× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 110× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 80× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.4 about 67 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 140× 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 in our catalogue was M 5.3 on 2020-10-07 — about 20 times the energy of this one.

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 18.2788, -64.6111. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Culebra Municipio, PR 74 km (46 mi) W earthquakes near Culebra Municipio
Vieques Municipio, PR 88 km (55 mi) W earthquakes near Vieques Municipio
Fajardo Municipio, PR 104 km (65 mi) W earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 107 km (66 mi) W earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio
Luquillo Municipio, PR 116 km (72 mi) W earthquakes near Luquillo Municipio
Naguabo Municipio, PR 119 km (74 mi) W earthquakes near Naguabo 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. 3.4 48 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  2. 3.5 34 km E of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  3. 3.3 66 km E of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  4. 3.3 32 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  5. 3.4 23 km SSW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  6. 4.0 12 km S of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  7. 3.2 32 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  8. 3.3 28 km S of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  9. 4.0 36 km E of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  10. 3.2 36 km ENE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  11. 3.6 33 km ESE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  12. 3.8 54 km NE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  13. 3.2 2 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  14. 3.1 23 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  15. 3.2 36 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands

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.