QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.4md

Earthquake near Benitez, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Benitez in the 24 hours to 8:30 am AST (12:30 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 67 km (42 mi) ESE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Benitez

This page: a magnitude 3.4 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northeast of Benitez, PR, at 5:14 am AST on 7 April 2023 (09:14 UTC), 132 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3 km NNE of Benitez, Puerto Rico

24 km (15 mi) ESE of San Juan, PR · 17 km (11 mi) SE of Carolina, PR

5:14 am AST, Apr 7, 2023 · · 132 km deep · released about 2 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Benitez Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Canóvanas Municipio 4 kmJuncos Municipio 9 kmRío Grande Municipio 11 kmGurabo Municipio 12 kmLas Piedras Municipio 13 kmTrujillo Alto Municipio 15 kmCarolina Municipio 15 kmNaguabo Municipio 17 kmLoíza Municipio 18 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
5:14 am AST on 7 April 2023 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) north-northeast of Benitez, PR · earthquakes near Benitez
Magnitude
M 3.4 (md)
Depth
132 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Canóvanas Municipio, 4 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1314 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 Benitez, 3 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: Campo Rico, Bartolo, El Mangó, Pueblito del Rio, La Dolores, Canovanas.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 2 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 86,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 3,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,700× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.4 about 2 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4.1× 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 4.6 on 2016-12-05 — about 61 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 28 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 18.3007, -65.8688. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Canóvanas Municipio, PR 4 km (2 mi) NNW earthquakes near Canóvanas Municipio
Juncos Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) SSW earthquakes near Juncos Municipio
Río Grande Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) NE earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio
Gurabo Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) WSW earthquakes near Gurabo Municipio
Las Piedras Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) S earthquakes near Las Piedras Municipio
Trujillo Alto Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) WNW earthquakes near Trujillo Alto 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. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  2. 2.6 2 km WNW of Bayamon, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.9 2 km NNE of Parcelas La Milagrosa, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.7 1 km W of Juncos, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 Puerto Rico region
  6. 3.2 6 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.0 Puerto Rico region
  8. 2.6 6 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.6 0 km ENE of Pájaros, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.0 1 km E of Jagual, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.9 23 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.0 22 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.7 2 km E of Santa Clara, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.0 1 km ENE of Bayamon, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 24 km ESE of El Negro, 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.