QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1md

18 km NW of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

Yes. A magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 18 km NW of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, at 5:58 am AST on 24 March 2026 (09:58 UTC), 7.4 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

· 7.4 km deep · released about 1,500 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vieques Municipio 67 kmCulebra Municipio 72 kmCeiba Municipio 91 kmFajardo Municipio 97 kmNaguabo Municipio 100 kmHumacao Municipio 101 kmLuquillo Municipio 106 kmYabucoa Municipio 106 kmMaunabo Municipio 108 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
Magnitude
M 3.1 (md)
Depth
7.4 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
Vieques Municipio, 67 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 232 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 42 km (26 mi) from the epicentre. 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,500 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 10,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,200× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,500 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.6× more

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 4.0 on 2023-10-24 — about 20 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.1 22 km NNE of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands · 28 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 29 km S of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands · 31 km NNE 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 17.8193, -64.8888. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vieques Municipio, PR 67 km (42 mi) WNW earthquakes near Vieques Municipio
Culebra Municipio, PR 72 km (45 mi) NW earthquakes near Culebra Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 91 km (57 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio
Fajardo Municipio, PR 97 km (60 mi) NW earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Naguabo Municipio, PR 100 km (62 mi) WNW earthquakes near Naguabo Municipio
Humacao Municipio, PR 101 km (63 mi) WNW earthquakes near Humacao Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 22 km SE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 23 km NNW of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
  3. 4.1 21 km SE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.3 24 km ESE of Isabel Segunda, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.2 40 km SE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.0 28 km SSW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  7. 2.5 20 km SSW of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  8. 3.0 23 km S of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  9. 2.6 14 km SSE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  10. 3.1 20 km S of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  11. 2.3 22 km S of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  12. 2.9 24 km SSW of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
  13. 3.6 33 km NNW of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
  14. 3.2 35 km SE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.2 54 km WSW of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands

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.