QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Juncal, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Juncal in the 24 hours to 8:29 am AST (12:29 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 41 km (26 mi) S, at 3:58 pm AST on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Juncal

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northeast of Juncal, PR, at 5:02 am AST on 20 July 2023 (09:02 UTC), 18 km deep.

USGS: 3 km NNE of Juncal, Puerto Rico

90 km (56 mi) W of San Juan, PR · 22 km (14 mi) SW of Arecibo, PR

5:02 am AST, Jul 20, 2023 · · 18 km deep · released about 140 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Juncal Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Sebastián Municipio 6 kmLares Municipio 8 kmCamuy Municipio 12 kmQuebradillas Municipio 14 kmLas Marías Municipio 15 kmHatillo Municipio 16 kmMoca Municipio 18 kmMaricao Municipio 19 kmIsabela Municipio 19 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
5:02 am AST on 20 July 2023 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) north-northeast of Juncal, PR · earthquakes near Juncal
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Sebastián Municipio, 6 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1210 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Juncal, 3 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.

Likely felt in: Lares 6 km, intensity II · San Sebastián 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 140 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 110,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 75,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 140 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 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 840,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 49 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 34 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 41 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 43 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 44 km NE 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 18.3425, -66.9103. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Sebastián Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) WSW earthquakes near San Sebastián Municipio
Lares Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lares Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) NNE earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) N earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) SSW earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NE earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 Puerto Rico region
  2. 2.2 3 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 4 km NE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 2 km NNW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.8 5 km SW of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.0 18 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 5 km WSW of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.5 4 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 2 km E of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 7 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 0 km S of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.5 2 km E of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 Puerto Rico region
  14. 2.8 5 km WSW of Gu?nica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.2 0 km NNE of Fuig, 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.