Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.0md
69 km NE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
Yes. A magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 69 km NE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands, at 8:43 pm AST on 16 September 2026 (00:43 UTC), 24 km deep.
- When
- Magnitude
- M 3.0 (md)
- Depth
- 24 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Culebra Municipio, 111 km WSW
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 56 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 31 km (19 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 1,100 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.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 300,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 13,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 9,400× the energy of this one
- 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 5.7 on 2023-12-09 — about 9,400 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 5.9 68 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands · 34 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.9 65 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands · 20 km WNW of this epicentre
- 5.7 80 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands · 28 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.3 78 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands · 33 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.3 97 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands · 48 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 18.8318, -64.4005. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Culebra Municipio, PR | 111 km (69 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Culebra Municipio |
| Vieques Municipio, PR | 134 km (83 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Vieques Municipio |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
26 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 3.4 88 km NE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 2.7 45 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 2.7 44 km NE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 3.8 92 km NE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 3.3 56 km N of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 2.8 64 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 3.3 69 km NE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 3.4 117 km NE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 2.9 45 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 2.8 81 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 2.4 71 km NE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 3.2 79 km NE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 3.0 66 km NNE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 3.2 82 km NE of Cruz Bay, U.S. Virgin Islands
- 2.9 65 km NE of Cruz Bay, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.