QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Arroyo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Arroyo in the 24 hours to 4:42 pm AST (20:42 UTC). The last one was M 3.3, 39 km (24 mi) WSW, at 8:40 am AST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Arroyo

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) south-southeast of Arroyo, PR, at 9:07 pm AST on 10 April 2023 (01:07 UTC), 9.2 km deep.

USGS: 20 km SSE of Arroyo, Puerto Rico

69 km (43 mi) S of San Juan, PR · 50 km (31 mi) S of Caguas, PR

9:07 pm AST, Apr 10, 2023 · · 9.2 km deep · released about 43 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Arroyo Municipio 21 kmPatillas Municipio 24 kmGuayama Municipio 25 kmMaunabo Municipio 26 kmYabucoa Municipio 34 kmSalinas Municipio 34 kmCayey Municipio 38 kmSan Lorenzo Municipio 40 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 44 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
9:07 pm AST on 10 April 2023 ()
Where
21 km (13 mi) south-southeast of Arroyo, PR · earthquakes near Arroyo
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
9.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Arroyo Municipio, 21 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1310 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Arroyo, 21 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: Lamboglia, Palmas, Buena Vista, Corazón, Patillas, Guayama.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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 4.6 on 2016-12-05 — about 5,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 17.7880, -66.0055. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Arroyo Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) N earthquakes near Arroyo Municipio
Patillas Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) N earthquakes near Patillas Municipio
Guayama Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) NW earthquakes near Guayama Municipio
Maunabo Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) NNE earthquakes near Maunabo Municipio
Yabucoa Municipio, PR 34 km (21 mi) NNE earthquakes near Yabucoa Municipio
Salinas Municipio, PR 34 km (21 mi) NW earthquakes near Salinas Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 18 km S of Central Aguirre, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.7 16 km S of Central Aguirre, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.0 16 km S of Central Aguirre, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 16 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 6 km S of Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.9 1 km WSW of Coquí, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  8. 2.6 2 km WNW of Bayamon, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.9 2 km NNE of Parcelas La Milagrosa, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.7 1 km W of Juncos, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.0 Puerto Rico region
  12. 2.6 6 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 1 km E of Jagual, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.4 23 km SSE of Arroyo, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.7 2 km E of Santa Clara, 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.