QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Central Aguirre, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Central Aguirre in the 24 hours to 6:07 pm AST (22:07 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 23 km (14 mi) WSW, at 7:09 pm AST on 5 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Central Aguirre

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) south of Central Aguirre, PR, at 1:21 am AST on 6 September 2023 (05:21 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 15 km S of Central Aguirre, Puerto Rico

68 km (42 mi) SSW of San Juan, PR · 48 km (30 mi) ESE of Ponce, PR

1:21 am AST, Sep 6, 2023 · · 12 km deep · released about 140 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Salinas Municipio 19 kmGuayama Municipio 20 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 25 kmArroyo Municipio 25 kmPatillas Municipio 32 kmCayey Municipio 33 kmAibonito Municipio 36 kmCoamo Municipio 36 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 36 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
1:21 am AST on 6 September 2023 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) south of Central Aguirre, PR · earthquakes near Central Aguirre
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Salinas Municipio, 19 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1028 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Central Aguirre, 16 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: Jobos, Coquí, Salinas, Guayama, Las Ochenta, Coco.

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 3.4 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 78,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 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 4.6 on 2016-12-05 — about 1,700 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 17.8095, -66.2113. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Salinas Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NNW earthquakes near Salinas Municipio
Guayama Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) NNE earthquakes near Guayama Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) NW earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Arroyo Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) NE earthquakes near Arroyo Municipio
Patillas Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) NE earthquakes near Patillas Municipio
Cayey Municipio, PR 33 km (21 mi) N earthquakes near Cayey Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 6 km SSE of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.0 Puerto Rico region
  3. 2.7 Puerto Rico region
  4. 2.1 Puerto Rico region
  5. 3.3 4 km SSE of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.2 Puerto Rico region
  7. 3.4 8 km S of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 4 km SE of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.1 Puerto Rico region
  10. 3.2 4 km SSE of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.4 4 km SSE of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  13. 3.0 5 km SSE of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.0 4 km SE of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.1 4 km S of Salinas, 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.