QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near Arecibo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Arecibo in the 24 hours to 11:10 pm AST (03:10 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 49 km (31 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Arecibo

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) north of Arecibo, PR, at 9:58 pm AST on 9 July 2022 (01:58 UTC), 12 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 18 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico

74 km (46 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 21 km (13 mi) N of Arecibo, PR

9:58 pm AST, Jul 9, 2022 · · 12 km deep · released about 890 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Arecibo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Arecibo Municipio 23 kmHatillo Municipio 23 kmBarceloneta Municipio 26 kmCamuy Municipio 26 kmQuebradillas Municipio 29 kmManatí Municipio 32 kmFlorida Municipio 35 kmIsabela Municipio 35 kmVega Baja Municipio 40 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
9:58 pm AST on 9 July 2022 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) north of Arecibo, PR · earthquakes near Arecibo
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Arecibo Municipio, 23 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1586 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 34 km (21 mi) from the epicentre. In Arecibo, 19 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: Arecibo 19 km, intensity II · Hatillo 20 km, intensity II · Barceloneta 29 km, intensity II · Quebradillas 29 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 890 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 380,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 17,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 12,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 890 lb of TNT

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 2018-12-09 — about 130 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 50 km W of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 46 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 48 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 19 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 45 km SW 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 18.6392, -66.7230. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Arecibo Municipio, PR 23 km (15 mi) SSE earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 23 km (15 mi) SSW earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) SE earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) SW earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) SW earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) SE earthquakes near Manatí Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.4 49 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.7 23 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.0 11 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.8 11 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.8 36 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.0 19 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.8 5 km NNW of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 11 km N of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.6 Puerto Rico region
  10. 3.1 59 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.9 21 km NNW of Camuy, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.2 17 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 4 km NNW of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 14 km NNE of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.4 2 km WNW of San Sebastián, 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.