QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Stella, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Stella in the 24 hours to 12:06 pm AST (16:06 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 55 km (34 mi) NNE, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Stella

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) south-southwest of Stella, PR, at 5:02 pm AST on 6 December 2023 (21:02 UTC), 6.6 km deep.

USGS: 12 km SSW of Stella, Puerto Rico

15 km (9 mi) W of Mayagüez, PR · 130 km (81 mi) W of San Juan, PR

5:02 pm AST, Dec 6, 2023 · · 6.6 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Stella Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 15 kmAñasco Municipio 18 kmHormigueros Municipio 19 kmAguada Municipio 21 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 26 kmSan Germán Municipio 28 kmMoca Municipio 28 kmLas Marías Municipio 32 kmAguadilla Municipio 33 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 pm AST on 6 December 2023 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) south-southwest of Stella, PR · earthquakes near Stella
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
6.6 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 15 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1071 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Stella, 13 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: Mayagüez 15 km, intensity II · Rincón 15 km, intensity II · Puerto Real 18 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 120 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 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 5.3 on 2020-07-03 — about 22,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 47 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 27 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 38 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 49 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 31 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 18.2090, -67.2788. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NNE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) ESE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) NNE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) SSE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 28 km (17 mi) ESE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 1 km NE of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 3 km NE of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 5 km NE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 2 km ENE of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 8 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.3 8 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.8 4 km NNW of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 7 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.9 6 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.4 3 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 8 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.2 4 km SW of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 2 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.9 19 km SW of Stella, 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.