QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.3md

Earthquake near Brenas, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Brenas in the 24 hours to 10:45 am AST (14:45 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 87 km (54 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 Brenas

This page: a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) north-northwest of Brenas, PR, at 4:43 pm AST on 13 November 2022 (20:43 UTC), 70 km deep.

USGS: 15 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico

39 km (25 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 33 km (21 mi) NW of Bayamón, PR

4:43 pm AST, Nov 13, 2022 · · 70 km deep · released about 1.4 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Brenas Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vega Baja Municipio 16 kmDorado Municipio 18 kmVega Alta Municipio 19 kmManatí Municipio 21 kmBarceloneta Municipio 24 kmToa Baja Municipio 25 kmCataño Municipio 30 kmToa Alta Municipio 30 kmMorovis Municipio 32 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
4:43 pm AST on 13 November 2022 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) north-northwest of Brenas, PR · earthquakes near Brenas
Magnitude
M 3.3 (md)
Depth
70 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Vega Baja Municipio, 16 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1383 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 Brenas, 15 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: Sabana, Ceiba, Vega Baja, Monserrate, San Antonio, Tierras Nuevas Poniente.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.4 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 120,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,400× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 3,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.4 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.9× 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 170 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 · 20 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 46 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 12 km SSE 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 18.5998, -66.3763. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) S earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) SE earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) SSE earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) SW earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) SW earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) SE earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 55 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.0 27 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 45 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 Puerto Rico region
  5. 3.2 3 km NNW of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.1 5 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.7 Puerto Rico region
  8. 3.3 47 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 44 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.6 11 km NNE of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.7 Puerto Rico region
  12. 2.9 Puerto Rico region
  13. 2.2 3 km ENE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.6 2 km NNE of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.6 24 km NNE of Dorado, 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.