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 1:02 pm AST (17:02 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 3 km (2 mi) southwest of Vega Alta, PR, at 7:46 am AST on 9 September 2025 (11:46 UTC), 56 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3 km SW of Vega Alta, Puerto Rico

31 km (19 mi) W of San Juan, PR · 20 km (13 mi) W of Bayamón, PR

7:46 am AST, Sep 9, 2025 · · 56 km deep · released about 1,100 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Vega Alta Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vega Alta Municipio 5 kmVega Baja Municipio 8 kmCorozal Municipio 10 kmMorovis Municipio 11 kmToa Alta Municipio 12 kmDorado Municipio 13 kmNaranjito Municipio 16 kmManatí Municipio 16 kmToa Baja Municipio 18 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
7:46 am AST on 9 September 2025 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) southwest of Vega Alta, PR · earthquakes near Vega Alta
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
56 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Vega Alta Municipio, 5 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 346 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, 3 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: Miranda, Monserrate, Ceiba, Vega Baja, Corozal, Sabana.

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 6.7 300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 13,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 9,400× 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 4.4 on 2018-12-09 — about 110 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 · 29 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 27 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 12 km N 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 18.3932, -66.3537. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) NNE earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) NW earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Corozal Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) SSE earthquakes near Corozal Municipio
Morovis Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) SW earthquakes near Morovis Municipio
Toa Alta Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) ESE earthquakes near Toa Alta Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NE earthquakes near Dorado Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.2 23 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 35 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.3 1 km S of Pájaros, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 1 km WSW of Bayamon, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 4 km NNW of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 1 km NE of Las Ochenta, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.1 1 km SSW of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 5 km NW of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.5 1 km SE of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.9 2 km S of Cayey, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 2 km SE of Cidra, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 2 km WNW of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 31 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, 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.