QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Ciales, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Ciales in the 24 hours to 10:12 am AST (14:12 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 67 km (42 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 Ciales

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) west-southwest of Ciales, PR, at 3:22 pm AST on 5 November 2024 (19:22 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 5 km WSW of Ciales, Puerto Rico

49 km (31 mi) W of San Juan, PR · 27 km (17 mi) ESE of Arecibo, PR

3:22 pm AST, Nov 5, 2024 · · 12 km deep · released about 200 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Ciales Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ciales Municipio 3 kmFlorida Municipio 7 kmMorovis Municipio 11 kmManatí Municipio 14 kmJayuya Municipio 14 kmOrocovis Municipio 14 kmBarceloneta Municipio 17 kmVega Baja Municipio 20 kmUtuado Municipio 20 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
3:22 pm AST on 5 November 2024 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) west-southwest of Ciales, PR · earthquakes near Ciales
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ciales Municipio, 3 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 736 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Ciales, 6 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: Ciales 6 km, intensity II · Jayuya 14 km, intensity II · Barceloneta 14 km, intensity II · Vega Baja 20 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 200 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 75,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 53,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 200 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 5.6 on 2020-01-07 — about 38,000 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 · 27 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 41 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 28 km NE 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 18.3215, -66.5208. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ciales Municipio, PR 3 km (2 mi) S earthquakes near Ciales Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) NW earthquakes near Florida Municipio
Morovis Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) E earthquakes near Morovis Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) NNE earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Jayuya Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) SSW earthquakes near Jayuya Municipio
Orocovis Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) SE earthquakes near Orocovis Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 17 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 2 km ESE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.4 0 km ENE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 2 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 2 km NE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.2 2 km WSW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.8 16 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 2 km WNW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.9 9 km NNE of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.7 2 km ENE of Tallaboa Alta, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 1 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 0 km SSW of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.3 8 km SSW of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.6 5 km NNW of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.4 2 km W of Indios, 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.