QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Cataño, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Cataño in the 24 hours to 8:29 am AST (12:29 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 99 km (61 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 Cataño

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded in Cataño, PR, at 5:07 pm AST on 2 June 2023 (21:07 UTC), 84 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 0 km NNW of Cataño, Puerto Rico

8 km (5 mi) NW of San Juan, PR

5:07 pm AST, Jun 2, 2023 · · 84 km deep · released about 630 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Cataño Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cataño Municipio 3 kmSan Juan Municipio 6 kmToa Baja Municipio 8 kmGuaynabo Municipio 11 kmBayamón Municipio 12 kmDorado Municipio 15 kmToa Alta Municipio 16 kmCarolina Municipio 17 kmTrujillo Alto 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
5:07 pm AST on 2 June 2023 ()
Where
in Cataño, PR · earthquakes near Cataño
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
84 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Cataño Municipio, 3 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1258 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. 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: San Juan, Levittown, Bayamón, Sabana Seca, Eleanor Roosevelt, Guaynabo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 630 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 24,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 17,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 630 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 190 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 · 48 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 21 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 24 km WNW 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 18.4468, -66.1220. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cataño Municipio, PR 3 km (2 mi) W earthquakes near Cataño Municipio
San Juan Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) ESE earthquakes near San Juan Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) W earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio
Guaynabo Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) S earthquakes near Guaynabo Municipio
Bayamón Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) SSW earthquakes near Bayamón Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) WNW earthquakes near Dorado Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 1 km SSW of Cidra, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 Puerto Rico region
  3. 3.2 2 km NNW of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.3 4 km ENE of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 8 km S of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.3 Puerto Rico region
  7. 1.9 8 km ENE of Villalba, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.1 Puerto Rico region
  9. 2.8 5 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.6 2 km WNW of Bayamon, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.9 2 km NNE of Parcelas La Milagrosa, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.7 1 km W of Juncos, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 Puerto Rico region
  14. 3.2 6 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.0 Puerto Rico region

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.