QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1md

Earthquake near Luquillo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Luquillo in the 24 hours to 6:12 am AST (10:12 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 61 km (38 mi) SE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Luquillo

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 22 km (14 mi) northeast of Luquillo, PR, at 11:43 pm AST on 27 September 2022 (03:43 UTC), 86 km deep.

USGS: 22 km NE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico

52 km (32 mi) ENE of San Juan, PR · 44 km (27 mi) ENE of Carolina, PR

11:43 pm AST, Sep 27, 2022 · · 86 km deep · released about 1,400 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fajardo Municipio 16 kmLuquillo Municipio 22 kmRío Grande Municipio 28 kmCeiba Municipio 31 kmCulebra Municipio 37 kmLoíza Municipio 39 kmCanóvanas Municipio 39 kmNaguabo Municipio 39 kmCarolina Municipio 43 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
11:43 pm AST on 27 September 2022 ()
Where
22 km (14 mi) northeast of Luquillo, PR · earthquakes near Luquillo
Magnitude
M 3.1 (md)
Depth
86 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fajardo Municipio, 16 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1505 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. In Luquillo, 22 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Playa Fortuna, Fajardo, Ramos, Luis M. Cintron, Palmer, Hato Candal.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,400 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 10,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,400× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,400 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.5× 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 2021-03-09 — about 330 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 18.5335, -65.5873. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fajardo Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) S earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Luquillo Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) SW earthquakes near Luquillo Municipio
Río Grande Municipio, PR 28 km (18 mi) SW earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) S earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio
Culebra Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) SE earthquakes near Culebra Municipio
Loíza Municipio, PR 39 km (24 mi) WSW earthquakes near Loíza Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 1 km W of San Isidro, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.9 11 km WNW of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.1 43 km NNE of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 49 km NE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.3 Puerto Rico region
  6. 3.4 Puerto Rico region
  7. 3.2 22 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.3 52 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.1 3 km E of Celada, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.4 62 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.2 62 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.4 5 km SSW of Ramos, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.4 53 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.4 37 km NNE of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.4 57 km NNE of Vieques, 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.