QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near Vega Alta, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Vega Alta in the 24 hours to 11:24 am AST (15:24 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 84 km (52 mi) SW, at 9:19 am AST on 18 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Vega Alta

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) east of Vega Alta, PR, at 12:59 pm AST on 16 June 2024 (16:59 UTC), 59 km deep.

USGS: 2 km E of Vega Alta, Puerto Rico

26 km (16 mi) W of San Juan, PR · 16 km (10 mi) WNW of Bayamón, PR

12:59 pm AST, Jun 16, 2024 · · 59 km deep · released about 800 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Vega Alta Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vega Alta Municipio 4 kmDorado Municipio 8 kmToa Alta Municipio 9 kmVega Baja Municipio 10 kmCorozal Municipio 12 kmToa Baja Municipio 13 kmNaranjito Municipio 15 kmMorovis Municipio 16 kmBayamón Municipio 17 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
12:59 pm AST on 16 June 2024 ()
Where
2 km (1 mi) east of Vega Alta, PR · earthquakes near Vega Alta
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
59 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Vega Alta Municipio, 4 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 878 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 Vega Alta, 2 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: San Antonio, Río Lajas, Ceiba, Monserrate, San José, Toa Baja.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 800 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 6.7 420,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 19,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 13,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 800 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 4.4 on 2018-12-09 — about 150 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 32 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 25 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 10 km NNW 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 18.4138, -66.3100. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 4 km (2 mi) NW earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) NE earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Toa Alta Municipio, PR 9 km (5 mi) SE earthquakes near Toa Alta Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) WNW earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Corozal Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) S earthquakes near Corozal Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) ENE earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 3 km WNW of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 4 km NW of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 3 km NW of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 6 km W of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 29 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 20 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 3 km SW of G. L. Garcia, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.4 6 km NNW of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 4 km WNW of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.3 6 km WSW of Estancias de Florida, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.0 37 km N of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.7 30 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.9 24 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.0 1 km NNE of Manatí, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.3 3 km WNW of Orocovis, 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.