QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Aguadilla, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Aguadilla in the 24 hours to 1:01 pm AST (17:01 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 4 km (3 mi) SE, at 12:03 am AST on 6 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Aguadilla

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 32 km (20 mi) northwest of Aguadilla, PR, at 7:46 pm AST on 22 December 2023 (23:46 UTC), 13 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 31 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

52 km (32 mi) NNW of Mayagüez, PR · 142 km (88 mi) W of San Juan, PR

7:46 pm AST, Dec 22, 2023 · · 13 km deep · released about 510 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Aguadilla Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Aguadilla Municipio 30 kmRincón Municipio 33 kmAguada Municipio 33 kmMoca Municipio 42 kmIsabela Municipio 42 kmAñasco Municipio 45 kmQuebradillas Municipio 51 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 54 kmCamuy Municipio 59 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
7:46 pm AST on 22 December 2023 ()
Where
32 km (20 mi) northwest of Aguadilla, PR · earthquakes near Aguadilla
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Aguadilla Municipio, 30 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1055 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 25 km (16 mi) from the epicentre. In Aguadilla, 32 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 510 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 30,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 21,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 510 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 5.0 on 2022-11-17 — about 1,900 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 · 45 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 24 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 2 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 26 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 18 km ESE 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 18.6032, -67.3935. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 30 km (18 mi) ESE earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 33 km (21 mi) SSE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 33 km (21 mi) SE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 42 km (26 mi) SE earthquakes near Moca Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 42 km (26 mi) ESE earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 45 km (28 mi) SE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.1 8 km SSW of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.2 54 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 12 km W of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.0 24 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 30 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.1 52 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.1 3 km NNE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.2 46 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.3 61 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.2 12 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.3 20 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.0 48 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.8 23 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.6 39 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.1 48 km NW 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.