QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.6md

Puerto Rico region

Yes. A magnitude 3.6 earthquake was recorded in the Puerto Rico region, at 1:49 pm AST on 4 September 2023 (17:49 UTC), 44 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

· 44 km deep · released about 3.8 tons of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Loíza Municipio 96 kmFajardo Municipio 98 kmRío Grande Municipio 100 kmLuquillo Municipio 100 kmCarolina Municipio 102 kmSan Juan Municipio 103 kmCataño Municipio 104 kmToa Baja Municipio 105 kmCanóvanas Municipio 107 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 3.6 (md)
Depth
44 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Loíza Municipio, 96 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1090 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 54 km (34 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 3.8 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 45,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,000× 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 3.8 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 7.9× 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 4.5 on 2018-03-06 — about 22 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 19.2675, -65.6751. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Loíza Municipio, PR 96 km (59 mi) SSW earthquakes near Loíza Municipio
Fajardo Municipio, PR 98 km (61 mi) S earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Río Grande Municipio, PR 100 km (62 mi) S earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio
Luquillo Municipio, PR 100 km (62 mi) S earthquakes near Luquillo Municipio
Carolina Municipio, PR 102 km (63 mi) SSW earthquakes near Carolina Municipio
San Juan Municipio, PR 103 km (64 mi) SSW earthquakes near San Juan Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.6 63 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.1 65 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.2 71 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.9 52 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.7 97 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.4 111 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.5 70 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.4 82 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.7 92 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.2 77 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.6 91 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.7 132 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.7 131 km NNE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.3 89 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.9 123 km N of Suárez, 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.