QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Isabela, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Isabela in the 24 hours to 4:27 pm AST (20:27 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 31 km (19 mi) N, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Isabela

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) north-northeast of Isabela, PR, at 9:00 am AST on 27 August 2024 (13:00 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 16 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico

96 km (60 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 29 km (18 mi) NW of Arecibo, PR

9:00 am AST, Aug 27, 2024 · · 16 km deep · released about 700 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Isabela Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Isabela Municipio 17 kmQuebradillas Municipio 18 kmCamuy Municipio 22 kmHatillo Municipio 26 kmAguadilla Municipio 27 kmMoca Municipio 31 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 33 kmArecibo Municipio 36 kmAguada 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
9:00 am AST on 27 August 2024 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) north-northeast of Isabela, PR · earthquakes near Isabela
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Isabela Municipio, 17 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 806 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 28 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Isabela, 16 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.

Likely felt in: Isabela 16 km, intensity II · Quebradillas 17 km, intensity II · Hatillo 20 km, intensity II · Rafael Hernandez 22 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

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 2019-11-29 — about 640 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 · 36 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 27 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 46 km W of this epicentre
  4. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 48 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 35 km SW 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 18.6267, -66.9447. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Isabela Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) SSW earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) S earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) SSE earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) SE earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) SW earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) SSW earthquakes near Moca Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.2 11 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.9 17 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 16 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 21 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 5 km NNW of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.2 5 km SSE of Mora, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.5 54 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.1 4 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.1 40 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.7 10 km SSE of Lares, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.6 0 km S of Rafael Hernandez, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.7 15 km NNW of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 19 km NNW of Camuy, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.6 51 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.3 57 km NNE of Isabela, 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.