QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.4md

Earthquake near Arecibo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Arecibo in the 24 hours to 11:27 am AST (15:27 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 3.4 earthquake was recorded 50 km (31 mi) north-northwest of Arecibo, PR, at 1:19 am AST on 3 December 2022 (05:19 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 46 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico

97 km (60 mi) NW of San Juan, PR · 51 km (32 mi) N of Arecibo, PR

1:19 am AST, Dec 3, 2022 · · 16 km deep · released about 1.9 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Arecibo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Quebradillas Municipio 51 kmIsabela Municipio 52 kmCamuy Municipio 52 kmHatillo Municipio 52 kmArecibo Municipio 55 kmBarceloneta Municipio 56 kmAguadilla Municipio 59 kmManatí Municipio 62 kmMoca Municipio 65 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
1:19 am AST on 3 December 2022 ()
Where
50 km (31 mi) north-northwest of Arecibo, PR · earthquakes near Arecibo
Magnitude
M 3.4 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Quebradillas Municipio, 51 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1439 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 55 km (34 mi) from the epicentre. In Arecibo, 50 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: Hatillo 47 km, intensity II · Arecibo 50 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.9 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.4 about 1.9 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4× 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 5.1 on 2019-09-24 — about 310 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 17 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.7 45 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 32 km W of this epicentre
  2. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 46 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 15 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 49 km SW of this epicentre
  5. 6.0 81 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico · 37 km NNW 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 18.9098, -66.8167. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 51 km (31 mi) SSW earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 52 km (32 mi) SSW earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 52 km (32 mi) S earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 52 km (32 mi) S earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 55 km (34 mi) SSE earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 56 km (35 mi) SSE earthquakes near Barceloneta 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. 3.1 38 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.1 Mona Passage
  3. 2.9 66 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 Puerto Rico region
  5. 3.4 40 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.3 69 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.2 68 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.3 47 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.1 59 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.2 Puerto Rico region
  11. 2.4 Puerto Rico region
  12. 3.2 70 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 Mona Passage
  14. 3.1 73 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.3 72 km N of San Antonio, 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.