QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Dorado, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Dorado in the 24 hours to 6:12 am AST (10:12 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 92 km (57 mi) SW, at 9:19 am AST on 18 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Dorado

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) north-northwest of Dorado, PR, at 7:15 am AST on 17 September 2022 (11:15 UTC), 115 km deep.

USGS: 5 km NNW of Dorado, Puerto Rico

27 km (17 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 19 km (12 mi) NW of Bayamón, PR

7:15 am AST, Sep 17, 2022 · · 115 km deep · released about 550 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Dorado Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dorado Municipio 5 kmVega Alta Municipio 9 kmToa Baja Municipio 12 kmVega Baja Municipio 12 kmToa Alta Municipio 16 kmCataño Municipio 17 kmBayamón Municipio 22 kmManatí Municipio 22 kmCorozal Municipio 22 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
7:15 am AST on 17 September 2022 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) north-northwest of Dorado, PR · earthquakes near Dorado
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
115 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Dorado Municipio, 5 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1516 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 Dorado, 6 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: San Antonio, Brenas, Toa Baja, Sabana, Ceiba, Ingenio.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 550 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 28,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 19,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 550 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 4.8 on 2017-08-18 — about 870 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 · 29 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 32 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 5 km W 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 18.5037, -66.2942. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dorado Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) SE earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 9 km (5 mi) SSW earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) ESE earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) WSW earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Toa Alta Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) SSE earthquakes near Toa Alta Municipio
Cataño Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) ESE earthquakes near Cataño Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 4 km N of Animas, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.9 3 km E of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 20 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.1 12 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.1 10 km NW of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.3 3 km SE of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.7 Puerto Rico region
  8. 3.2 24 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.3 19 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.7 Puerto Rico region
  11. 3.2 5 km ESE of Pájaros, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.1 4 km SSW of Florida, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.2 31 km NNE of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.9 Puerto Rico region
  15. 2.1 3 km E of Comerío, 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.