QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near Hatillo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Hatillo in the 24 hours to 12:50 pm AST (16:50 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 40 km (25 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Hatillo

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 15 km (9 mi) north of Hatillo, PR, at 5:42 pm AST on 15 May 2024 (21:42 UTC), 77 km deep.

USGS: 14 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico

84 km (52 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 21 km (13 mi) NNW of Arecibo, PR

5:42 pm AST, May 15, 2024 · · 77 km deep · released about 1,100 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Camuy Municipio 20 kmHatillo Municipio 20 kmQuebradillas Municipio 20 kmIsabela Municipio 25 kmArecibo Municipio 26 kmBarceloneta Municipio 33 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 35 kmAguadilla Municipio 37 kmMoca Municipio 38 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
5:42 pm AST on 15 May 2024 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) north of Hatillo, PR · earthquakes near Hatillo
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
77 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Camuy Municipio, 20 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Hatillo, 15 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Camuy, Carrizales, Corcovado, Quebradillas, Arecibo, Piedra Gorda.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 310,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 14,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 9,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,100 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 4.2 on 2022-12-30 — about 51 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.7 45 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 44 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 39 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 47 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 45 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 43 km W 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 18.6182, -66.8270. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Camuy Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) S earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) S earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) SSW earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) SW earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) SE earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 33 km (20 mi) ESE earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.3 6 km WSW of Estancias de Florida, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.5 2 km NW of Las Marias, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 4 km WNW of San Sebastián, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.8 5 km ENE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.8 7 km S of Lares, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.9 24 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.4 62 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.0 1 km NNE of Manatí, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.9 16 km N of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.4 48 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.4 8 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.9 17 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.2 50 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.4 45 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 8 km SSW of Lares, 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.