M3.3 earthquake 49 km ESE of Road Town, British Virgin Islands
A magnitude 3.3 earthquake struck 49 km ESE of Road Town, British Virgin Islands at 12:03 local time (16:03 UTC) on 3 Oct 2026, at a depth of 81 km, according to USGS.
Data: USGS · updated 2026-10-03 16:23 UTC · reviewed
- Magnitude
- 3.3minor
duration magnitude (md) - Depth
- 81.2 km
- Status
- Reviewed
- Origin time
- 2026-10-03 16:03:54 UTC
- Local: 3 Oct 2026, 12:03:54 (America/Tortola)
- Epicentre
- 18.337° N, 64.165° W
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Circles show this event and others within 30 km from 7 days before to 30 days after. Lines: plate boundaries and GEM active faults. Open on the live map
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Est. shaking |
|---|---|---|
| Road TownBritish Virgin Islands · pop. 8,449 | 49 km | INot felt |
| Cruz BaySaint John Island, U.S. Virgin Islands · pop. 2,743 | 66 km | INot felt |
| Charlotte AmalieSaint Thomas Island, U.S. Virgin Islands · pop. 20,000 | 81 km | INot felt |
| Saint CroixSaint Croix Island, U.S. Virgin Islands · pop. 50,601 | 92 km | INot felt |
| San JuanPuerto Rico · pop. 418,140 | 206 km | INot felt |
Shaking is an estimate from the intensity prediction equation of Allen, Wald & Worden (2012), not an observation. Local ground and buildings can change it by a level or more.
Every agency's solution
Agencies locate earthquakes with their own stations and methods, so their numbers differ. We match reports of the same event by time, distance and magnitude and show them side by side. The headline uses USGS · PR, which has been reviewed by an analyst.
| Agency | Magnitude | Depth | Epicentre | Time offset | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USGS · PRheadlinePuerto Rico Seismic Network via U.S. Geological Survey | 3.3 md | 81.2 km | 18.34° N, 64.17° W | – | Reviewed |
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How big was it?
Often felt by people at rest close to the epicentre, rarely causes damage.
It released roughly the energy of 1.2 t of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step means about 32 times more energy and 10 times larger waves on a seismogram. Depth matters too: at 81 km this was a intermediate-depth earthquake, which spreads shaking over a wider area but less intensely.
M3.3 releases about 28× the energy of M2.3, and its waves are about 9.1× taller on a seismogram. Energy: 1.2 t of TNT vs 43 kg of TNT.
Each square is the energy of one M2.3. Energy from log₁₀E = 1.5M + 4.8.
Aftershocks and nearby activity
No later earthquakes have been recorded within 30 km so far. Aftershock rates usually fall off roughly in proportion to 1/time.
Did you feel it?
Reports from people help show where shaking was strong. They are anonymous and shown here in aggregate.
Reports on SeismoAtlas
No reports yet.
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Event id pr71535538. First recorded here 3 Oct 2026, 16:24:21 UTC. Solutions: USGS · PR (usgs:pr71535538). Cite as: SeismoAtlas, “M3.3 earthquake 49 km ESE of Road Town, British Virgin Islands”, https://seismoatlas.com/earthquake/pr71535538-m3-3-earthquake-49-km-ese-of-road-town-british-virgin-islands, data from USGS.
JSON: /api/v1/events/pr71535538. SeismoAtlas is not an official warning service.