QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 5.7ml

74 km NE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands

Yes. A magnitude 5.7 earthquake was recorded 74 km NE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands, at 10:27 am AST on 9 December 2023 (14:27 UTC), 7.0 km deep. 172 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

· 7.0 km deep · released about 5.4 kilotons of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Culebra Municipio 115 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 5.7 (ml)
Depth
7.0 km below the surface
Felt
172 reports · strongest reported intensity V
Nearest
Culebra Municipio, 115 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1005 days ago

This was a moderate earthquake. Shaking at this size can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 293 km (182 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 5.4 kilotons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 6.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Loma Prieta, California 1989 M 6.9 63× the energy of this one
  2. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 32× the energy of this one
  3. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 5.7 about 5.4 kilotons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 11,000× 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 (31 mi) since our catalogue begins in 2016. The previous largest was M 5.5 on 2022-05-08.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.9 68 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands · 35 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 65 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands · 20 km W of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 80 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands · 26 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.3 78 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands · 31 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.3 97 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands · 45 km NW 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 18.8785, -64.3833. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Culebra Municipio, PR 115 km (72 mi) WSW earthquakes near Culebra Municipio
Vieques Municipio, PR 139 km (86 mi) SW earthquakes near Vieques Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.4 83 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  2. 3.3 77 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  3. 3.6 78 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  4. 3.3 69 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  5. 3.6 86 km NE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  6. 3.4 97 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  7. 3.8 99 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  8. 3.8 101 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  9. 3.7 75 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  10. 3.6 70 km NE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  11. 3.8 69 km NE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  12. 3.5 53 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  13. 3.5 47 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  14. 3.5 55 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  15. 4.0 85 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.