QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.4md

97 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico

Yes. A magnitude 3.4 earthquake was recorded 97 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, at 3:03 pm AST on 15 May 2024 (19:03 UTC), 37 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

· 37 km deep · released about 2 tons of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Barceloneta Municipio 97 kmManatí Municipio 101 kmVega Baja Municipio 101 kmArecibo Municipio 102 kmDorado Municipio 103 kmHatillo Municipio 103 kmVega Alta Municipio 104 kmQuebradillas Municipio 104 kmCamuy Municipio 104 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 3.4 (md)
Depth
37 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Barceloneta Municipio, 97 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 910 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 2 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 86,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 3,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 2,700× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.4 about 2 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 4.1× 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 4.7 on 2017-07-17 — about 75 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 41 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 81 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico · 39 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.9 78 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico · 20 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 78 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 20 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 64 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 35 km SSE 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 19.3457, -66.5802. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 97 km (61 mi) S earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 101 km (63 mi) S earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 101 km (63 mi) S earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 102 km (63 mi) S earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 103 km (64 mi) SSE earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 103 km (64 mi) SSW earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.6 68 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.2 99 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.2 58 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.2 55 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.2 61 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.2 67 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.5 54 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.6 143 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.4 73 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.7 77 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.1 67 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.3 66 km N of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.1 73 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.1 60 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.3 85 km N of Brenas, 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.