QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 4.3md

102 km WSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico

Yes. A magnitude 4.3 earthquake was recorded 102 km WSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico, at 1:26 am AST on 30 October 2024 (05:26 UTC), 57 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

· 57 km deep · released about 36 tons of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mayagüez Municipio 63 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 104 kmLajas Municipio 116 kmHormigueros Municipio 118 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 4.3 (md)
Depth
57 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity V
Nearest
Mayagüez Municipio, 63 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 664 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 102 km (63 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 36 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 4,700× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 210× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 4.3 about 36 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 75× 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 2024-08-26 — about 6.7 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 17.5336, -68.0350. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 63 km (39 mi) NNE earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 104 km (65 mi) ENE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 116 km (72 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 118 km (73 mi) NE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 122 km (76 mi) NE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 123 km (77 mi) ENE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.3 64 km SW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.7 110 km SW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.4 105 km SW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.4 86 km SW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.3 79 km SE of Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic
  6. 3.9 81 km SE of Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic
  7. 3.3 83 km SE of Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic
  8. 4.7 106 km WSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.4 89 km SSE of Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic
  10. 3.3 65 km SE of Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic
  11. 3.3 79 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.9 123 km SSE of Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic
  13. 3.5 71 km SE of Boca de Yuma, Dominican Republic
  14. 3.4 73 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.4 83 km W of Pole Ojea, 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.