QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2md

Earthquake near Quebradillas, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Quebradillas in the 24 hours to 5:30 pm AST (21:30 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 36 km (22 mi) NNW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Quebradillas

This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 22 km (13 mi) north of Quebradillas, PR, at 4:46 am AST on 6 October 2023 (08:46 UTC), 19 km deep.

USGS: 21 km N of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico

95 km (59 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 30 km (19 mi) NW of Arecibo, PR

4:46 am AST, Oct 6, 2023 · · 19 km deep · released about 1,700 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Quebradillas Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Quebradillas Municipio 22 kmIsabela Municipio 23 kmCamuy Municipio 25 kmHatillo Municipio 28 kmAguadilla Municipio 32 kmArecibo Municipio 36 kmMoca Municipio 36 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 38 kmAguada Municipio 43 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
4:46 am AST on 6 October 2023 ()
Where
22 km (13 mi) north of Quebradillas, PR · earthquakes near Quebradillas
Magnitude
M 3.2 (md)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Quebradillas Municipio, 22 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1063 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 41 km (25 mi) from the epicentre. In Quebradillas, 22 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: Quebradillas 22 km, intensity II · Isabela 22 km, intensity II · Hatillo 22 km, intensity II · Rafael Hernandez 28 km, intensity II · Arecibo 30 km, intensity II · Aguadilla 37 km, intensity II · San Sebastián 38 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,700 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 8,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 6,200× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1,700 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.8× 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 4.8 on 2019-11-29 — about 260 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.7 45 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 34 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 29 km W of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 50 km W of this epicentre
  4. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 43 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 40 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 18.6670, -66.9167. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) S earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) SSW earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) SSE earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 28 km (17 mi) SSE earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) SW earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 36 km (23 mi) SE earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 7 km SSE of Lares, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 16 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.0 0 km SSW of Añasco, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.5 19 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 21 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 2 km ESE of Espino, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.7 14 km NE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.2 49 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 4 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.2 Puerto Rico region
  11. 2.8 26 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.9 35 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.8 20 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.4 3 km W of Cayuco, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.0 40 km N of San Antonio, 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.