QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2md

89 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico

Yes. A magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 89 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico, at 8:22 pm AST on 13 December 2023 (00:22 UTC), 20 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

· 20 km deep · released about 1.1 tons of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dorado Municipio 89 kmVega Baja Municipio 91 kmBarceloneta Municipio 92 kmToa Baja Municipio 92 kmVega Alta Municipio 93 kmManatí Municipio 93 kmCataño Municipio 95 kmArecibo Municipio 99 kmSan Juan Municipio 99 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
Magnitude
M 3.2 (md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Dorado Municipio, 89 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 998 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 44 km (27 mi) from the epicentre. 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 1.1 tons 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 6.7 160,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,200× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1.1 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.2× 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 2017-08-18 — about 230 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.9 78 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico · 32 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.7 78 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 24 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 64 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 29 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 106 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 18 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 66 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 23 km S 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 19.2740, -66.3582. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dorado Municipio, PR 89 km (56 mi) S earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 91 km (57 mi) S earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 92 km (57 mi) SSW earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 92 km (57 mi) S earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 93 km (58 mi) S earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 93 km (58 mi) S earthquakes near Manatí Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 75 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.0 79 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.2 76 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.4 78 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.1 74 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.1 71 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.3 88 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.1 63 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.0 51 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.2 62 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.0 79 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.2 64 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 76 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.4 82 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.6 79 km N of Carrizales, 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.