Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.4md
122 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
Yes. A magnitude 3.4 earthquake was recorded 122 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico, at 2:16 pm AST on 23 September 2023 (18:16 UTC), 87 km deep.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 3.4 (md)
- Depth
- 87 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Loíza Municipio, 125 km SSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1028 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.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1.8 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 95,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,300× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 3,000× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.4 about 1.8 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 3.7× more
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 4.9 on 2018-11-14 — about 190 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.1 122 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico · 20 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.1 92 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico · 35 km SW 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 19.4843, -65.4890. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loíza Municipio, PR | 125 km (78 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Loíza Municipio |
| San Juan Municipio, PR | 133 km (83 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near San Juan Municipio |
| Cataño Municipio, PR | 135 km (84 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Cataño Municipio |
| Toa Baja Municipio, PR | 136 km (85 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio |
| Dorado Municipio, PR | 139 km (86 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Dorado Municipio |
| Vega Alta Municipio, PR | 147 km (91 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
34 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.6 90 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 3.8 127 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
- 3.6 124 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
- 3.6 91 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
- 3.6 118 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
- 3.9 137 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 3.4 84 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
- 3.3 78 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
- 3.6 116 km N of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 3.3 92 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
- 3.7 92 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
- 3.2 77 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
- 3.9 148 km NNE of Suárez, Puerto Rico
- 3.6 91 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
- 3.7 132 km N of Suárez, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.