M4.5 Earthquake North of the Virgin Islands — August 16, 2023
2023-08-16 21:08:54 UTC (2023-08-16) · approx. 5:08 PM UTC-4 local
Felt by 5 people across nearby locations.
On August 16, 2023 at 21:08 UTC, a magnitude 4.5 shallow crustal earthquake struck North of the Virgin Islands, at a depth of 23.9 km and coordinates 20.1685°, -64.1936°. This earthquake was detected by 135 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 313, placing it among routine seismic activity.
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 4.5 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 85 metric tons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 767 m — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking
Aggregated felt-report intensity from 5 citizen responses to the USGS Did You Feel It? system. Each colored zone represents the average MMI from reports in that area.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Did You Feel It?. View on USGS · submit your own report
Earthquake Details
-64.1936°E
Technical Information
Nearby Earthquakes (Last 7 Days)
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 4.5 earthquake North of the Virgin Islands?
The magnitude 4.5 earthquake that struck North of the Virgin Islands on August 16, 2023 at 21:08 UTC had a depth of 23.9 km. For context, this was a light earthquake commonly felt near the epicenter.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 20.1685°, -64.1936°, which is North of the Virgin Islands.
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 4.5 earthquakes can continue for several days and gradually diminish over time.
Actions
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000knv6). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2023, August 16, 2023). M4.5 Earthquake North of the Virgin Islands — August 16, 2023. Retrieved October 27, 2023 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000knv6/