QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near Carolina, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Carolina in the 24 hours to 3:33 pm AST (19:33 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 81 km (50 mi) SE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Carolina

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) east-southeast of Carolina, PR, at 10:07 pm AST on 13 August 2023 (02:07 UTC), 39 km deep. 5 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

17 km (11 mi) ESE of San Juan, PR · 10 km (6 mi) SE of Carolina, PR

10:07 pm AST, Aug 13, 2023 · · 39 km deep · released about 1,100 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Carolina Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Canóvanas Municipio 4 kmCarolina Municipio 8 kmTrujillo Alto Municipio 10 kmLoíza Municipio 11 kmGurabo Municipio 12 kmRío Grande Municipio 12 kmJuncos Municipio 14 kmSan Juan Municipio 18 kmLas Piedras 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
10:07 pm AST on 13 August 2023 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) east-southeast of Carolina, PR · earthquakes near Carolina
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
39 km below the surface
Felt
5 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Canóvanas Municipio, 4 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1180 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Carolina, 6 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: Carolina 6 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 13,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 9,400× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,100 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 in our catalogue was M 4.6 on 2016-12-05 — about 210 times the energy of this one.

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 18.3537, -65.9105. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Canóvanas Municipio, PR 4 km (2 mi) SE earthquakes near Canóvanas Municipio
Carolina Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) NW earthquakes near Carolina Municipio
Trujillo Alto Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) WSW earthquakes near Trujillo Alto Municipio
Loíza Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) NNW earthquakes near Loíza Municipio
Gurabo Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) SW earthquakes near Gurabo Municipio
Río Grande Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) ENE earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 2 km SSE of Caguas, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 1 km SSW of Cidra, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 Puerto Rico region
  4. 3.2 2 km NNW of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.3 4 km ENE of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  7. 3.3 Puerto Rico region
  8. 2.5 16 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 6 km S of Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  11. 2.6 2 km WNW of Bayamon, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.9 2 km NNE of Parcelas La Milagrosa, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.7 1 km W of Juncos, 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.