Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.7md
137 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
Yes. A magnitude 4.7 earthquake was recorded 137 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico, at 5:32 am AST on 3 December 2024 (09:32 UTC), 106 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 4.7 (md)
- Depth
- 106 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Dorado Municipio, 159 km SW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 634 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 112 km (70 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 140 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 1,200× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 53× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 38× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.7 about 140 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 300× 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 4.9 on 2018-11-14 — about 2.4 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 6.0 112 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands · 41 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.6 112 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands · 45 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.1 107 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands · 41 km SE of this epicentre
- 5.1 122 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico · 16 km SSW of this epicentre
- 5.0 122 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands · 37 km ESE 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 19.5463, -65.2615. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dorado Municipio, PR | 159 km (99 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Dorado Municipio |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
51 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.7 131 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 3.3 133 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 3.4 130 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 3.8 141 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 3.7 137 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 3.8 121 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 4.0 143 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 3.7 133 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 3.4 106 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 3.3 99 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
- 3.9 143 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 3.7 147 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 3.8 113 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 3.4 137 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 2.9 105 km N of Charlotte Amalie, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.