QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2md

Earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tierras Nuevas Poniente in the 24 hours to 10:16 am AST (14:16 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 17 km (11 mi) WNW, at 2:05 am AST on 13 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente

This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) north of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR, at 11:46 am AST on 29 August 2022 (15:46 UTC), 67 km deep.

USGS: 17 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico

49 km (30 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 34 km (21 mi) ENE of Arecibo, PR

11:46 am AST, Aug 29, 2022 · · 67 km deep · released about 1,800 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Barceloneta Municipio 19 kmVega Baja Municipio 20 kmManatí Municipio 20 kmVega Alta Municipio 25 kmDorado Municipio 27 kmFlorida Municipio 30 kmArecibo Municipio 30 kmMorovis Municipio 34 kmToa Baja Municipio 34 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
11:46 am AST on 29 August 2022 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) north of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR · earthquakes near Tierras Nuevas Poniente
Magnitude
M 3.2 (md)
Depth
67 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Barceloneta Municipio, 19 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1535 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Tierras Nuevas Poniente, 18 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: La Luisa, Barceloneta, Sabana, Vega Baja, Coto Norte, Garrochales.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,800 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 8,200× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,800 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.9× 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 2017-08-18 — about 260 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 12 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 64 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 47 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 19 km SE 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 18.6203, -66.4658. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) SSW earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) SSE earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) S earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) SSE earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) SE earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) SSW earthquakes near Florida Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 Puerto Rico region
  2. 3.2 24 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.3 19 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.7 Puerto Rico region
  5. 2.8 24 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.2 5 km ESE of Pájaros, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.1 4 km SSW of Florida, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.4 46 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.2 31 km NNE of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.9 Puerto Rico region
  11. 3.1 4 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.6 5 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.9 Puerto Rico region
  14. 3.2 10 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.3 15 km NNW of Brenas, 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.