QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.8md

Earthquake near Carolina, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Carolina in the 24 hours to 4:32 am AST (08:32 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 81 km (50 mi) SE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Carolina

This page: a magnitude 3.8 earthquake was recorded 47 km (29 mi) northeast of Carolina, PR, at 5:52 pm AST on 13 March 2026 (21:52 UTC), 76 km deep.

USGS: 30 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico

55 km (34 mi) ENE of San Juan, PR · 47 km (29 mi) ENE of Carolina, PR

5:52 pm AST, Mar 13, 2026 · · 76 km deep · released about 7.3 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Carolina Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fajardo Municipio 26 kmLuquillo Municipio 31 kmRío Grande Municipio 35 kmCeiba Municipio 41 kmLoíza Municipio 42 kmCulebra Municipio 45 kmCanóvanas Municipio 45 kmCarolina Municipio 47 kmNaguabo Municipio 48 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
5:52 pm AST on 13 March 2026 ()
Where
47 km (29 mi) northeast of Carolina, PR · earthquakes near Carolina
Magnitude
M 3.8 (md)
Depth
76 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Measured shaking
intensity III (ShakeMap)
Nearest
Fajardo Municipio, 26 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 169 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 31 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In Carolina, 47 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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.

Likely felt in: Luquillo 31 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.3 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 23,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 730× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.8 about 7.3 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 15× 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 2021-03-09 — about 33 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.0 73 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico · 43 km NNE 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 18.6235, -65.5941. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fajardo Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) S earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Luquillo Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) SSW earthquakes near Luquillo Municipio
Río Grande Municipio, PR 35 km (22 mi) SW earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 41 km (26 mi) S earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio
Loíza Municipio, PR 42 km (26 mi) WSW earthquakes near Loíza Municipio
Culebra Municipio, PR 45 km (28 mi) SE earthquakes near Culebra Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 52 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.3 64 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.2 39 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.4 71 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.1 76 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.4 77 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.7 65 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.1 55 km NNE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.0 60 km N of Loíza, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.9 23 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.3 41 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.2 51 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.1 73 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.3 20 km NE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 27 km NNE of Vieques, 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.