Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.7md
117 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
Yes. A magnitude 3.7 earthquake was recorded 117 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico, at 3:54 am AST on 5 September 2026 (07:54 UTC), 11 km deep.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 3.7 (md)
- Depth
- 11 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Dorado Municipio, 117 km S
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 67 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 74 km (46 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 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.7 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 34,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,500× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.7 about 5 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 10× 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 4.4 on 2016-10-23 — about 12 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.4 106 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 27 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.0 113 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 19 km WSW 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 19.5255, -66.1496. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dorado Municipio, PR | 117 km (73 mi) | S | earthquakes near Dorado Municipio |
| Toa Baja Municipio, PR | 119 km (74 mi) | S | earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio |
| Vega Baja Municipio, PR | 122 km (76 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio |
| Barceloneta Municipio, PR | 125 km (78 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio |
| Quebradillas Municipio, PR | 143 km (89 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio |
| Isabela Municipio, PR | 147 km (91 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Isabela Municipio |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
4 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.6 93 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
- 3.1 75 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
- 3.3 110 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
- 3.2 93 km N of San Juan, 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
- 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.