QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Fajardo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Fajardo in the 24 hours to 1:38 pm AST (17:38 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 53 km (33 mi) SE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Fajardo

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) east-northeast of Fajardo, PR, at 8:25 pm AST on 23 February 2024 (00:25 UTC), 114 km deep.

USGS: 19 km ENE of Fajardo, Puerto Rico

61 km (38 mi) E of San Juan, PR · 52 km (32 mi) E of Carolina, PR

8:25 pm AST, Feb 23, 2024 · · 114 km deep · released about 700 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Fajardo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fajardo Municipio 11 kmCulebra Municipio 20 kmCeiba Municipio 21 kmLuquillo Municipio 24 kmVieques Municipio 31 kmRío Grande Municipio 33 kmNaguabo Municipio 33 kmCanóvanas Municipio 43 kmHumacao 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
8:25 pm AST on 23 February 2024 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) east-northeast of Fajardo, PR · earthquakes near Fajardo
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
114 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fajardo Municipio, 11 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 992 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. In Fajardo, 19 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Luis M. Cintron, Culebra, Aguas Claras, Luquillo, Ramos, Playa Fortuna.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 700 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 15,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 700 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 4.8 on 2021-10-08 — about 680 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 18.3965, -65.4863. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fajardo Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) W earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Culebra Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) ESE earthquakes near Culebra Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) SW earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio
Luquillo Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) W earthquakes near Luquillo Municipio
Vieques Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) S earthquakes near Vieques Municipio
Río Grande Municipio, PR 33 km (21 mi) W earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 34 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.7 10 km SSE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.4 39 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.2 41 km NNE of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.2 11 km S of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.0 16 km SE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.8 5 km SSE of Bajandas, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 6 km SSE of Bajandas, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.3 5 km SSE of Bajandas, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.0 14 km SE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.0 6 km SSE of Bajandas, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.4 1 km S of Canovanas, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.8 43 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.0 11 km SE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 10 km SW of Esperanza, 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.