QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Hatillo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Hatillo in the 24 hours to 12:10 pm AST (16:10 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 40 km (25 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Hatillo

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) north of Hatillo, PR, at 8:16 pm AST on 30 December 2022 (00:16 UTC), 71 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 14 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico

82 km (51 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 20 km (12 mi) NNW of Arecibo, PR

8:16 pm AST, Dec 30, 2022 · · 71 km deep · released about 430 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hatillo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hatillo Municipio 20 kmCamuy Municipio 20 kmQuebradillas Municipio 21 kmArecibo Municipio 25 kmIsabela Municipio 26 kmBarceloneta Municipio 31 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 36 kmFlorida Municipio 38 kmAguadilla Municipio 38 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
8:16 pm AST on 30 December 2022 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) north of Hatillo, PR · earthquakes near Hatillo
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
71 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Hatillo Municipio, 20 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1411 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 Hatillo, 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: Carrizales, Camuy, Corcovado, Arecibo, Quebradillas, Rafael Gonzalez.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 430 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 35,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 25,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 430 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 280 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.7 45 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 46 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 41 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 47 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 47 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 45 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 18.6183, -66.8102. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hatillo Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) S earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) SSW earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) SW earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) SE earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) SW earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) ESE earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 20 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 10 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.5 12 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.0 27 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.4 40 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.1 5 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.3 47 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 Puerto Rico region
  9. 3.6 11 km NNE of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.7 Puerto Rico region
  11. 3.2 Puerto Rico region
  12. 2.2 3 km ENE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.9 20 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 3 km W of Miranda, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.9 3 km N of Maricao, 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.