QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.7md

Virgin Islands

Yes. A magnitude 3.7 earthquake was recorded in the Virgin Islands, at 10:37 pm AST on 17 May 2023 (02:37 UTC), 28 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

· 28 km deep · released about 5 tons of TNT

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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 3.7 (md)
Depth
28 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Culebra Municipio, 137 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1207 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 69 km (43 mi) from the epicentre. 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 5 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 34,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.7 about 5 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 10× 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 5.0 on 2021-02-06 — about 92 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 19.3911, -64.6585. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Culebra Municipio, PR 137 km (85 mi) SSW earthquakes near Culebra Municipio
Fajardo Municipio, PR 149 km (92 mi) SW earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Luquillo Municipio, PR 159 km (99 mi) SW earthquakes near Luquillo Municipio
Río Grande Municipio, PR 165 km (102 mi) SW earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.6 140 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  2. 3.9 Virgin Islands
  3. 3.8 163 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  4. 3.4 100 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  5. 3.9 96 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  6. 3.8 136 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  7. 3.6 151 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  8. 3.6 83 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  9. 3.7 142 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  10. 3.8 87 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  11. 3.7 95 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  12. 3.4 76 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  13. 3.9 83 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  14. 3.9 Virgin Islands
  15. 3.9 100 km NNE 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.