QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Animas, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Animas in the 24 hours to 10:10 am AST (14:10 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 11 km (7 mi) N, at 2:05 am AST on 13 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Animas

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) north of Animas, PR, at 1:18 am AST on 23 December 2022 (05:18 UTC), 15 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 4 km N of Animas, Puerto Rico

10 km (6 mi) ENE of Arecibo, PR · 62 km (38 mi) W of San Juan, PR

1:18 am AST, Dec 23, 2022 · · 15 km deep · released about 590 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Animas Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Arecibo Municipio 7 kmBarceloneta Municipio 9 kmFlorida Municipio 15 kmManatí Municipio 16 kmHatillo Municipio 17 kmCamuy Municipio 24 kmUtuado Municipio 25 kmCiales Municipio 25 kmVega Baja Municipio 26 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
1:18 am AST on 23 December 2022 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) north of Animas, PR · earthquakes near Animas
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Arecibo Municipio, 7 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1419 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 26 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Animas, 4 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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 8 km, intensity II · Barceloneta 11 km, intensity II · Hatillo 19 km, intensity II · Ciales 24 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 590 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 26,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 18,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 590 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 200 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 NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 46 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 32 km E 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 18.4837, -66.6410. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Arecibo Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) SSW earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) E earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) SSE earthquakes near Florida Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) ESE earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) WSW earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) W earthquakes near Camuy Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.2 Puerto Rico region
  2. 2.2 3 km ENE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 2 km NNE of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 20 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 6 km SE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 3 km W of Miranda, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.9 3 km N of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 6 km NNE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.9 7 km NNW of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.8 0 km WSW of Peñuelas, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 Puerto Rico region
  12. 2.6 20 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.5 8 km NW of Camuy, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.0 4 km NW of Corozal, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.2 6 km NNW of Jayuya, 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.