QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2Md

Earthquake near Rincón, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Rincón in the 24 hours to 3:22 pm AST (19:22 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 53 km (33 mi) NNE, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Rincón

This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 20 km (12 mi) west-northwest of Rincón, PR, at 10:25 am AST on 29 August 2016 (14:25 UTC), 22 km deep.

USGS: 20 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico

37 km (23 mi) NW of Mayagüez, PR · 144 km (90 mi) W of San Juan, PR

10:25 am AST, Aug 29, 2016 · · 22 km deep · released about 60 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Rincón Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 20 kmAguada Municipio 26 kmAguadilla Municipio 32 kmAñasco Municipio 34 kmMoca Municipio 37 kmHormigueros Municipio 44 kmIsabela Municipio 45 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 49 kmLas Marías Municipio 51 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
10:25 am AST on 29 August 2016 ()
Where
20 km (12 mi) west-northwest of Rincón, PR · earthquakes near Rincón
Magnitude
M 2.2 (Md)
Depth
22 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 20 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3726 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Rincón, 20 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: Stella, Aguada, La Playa, Luyando, Aguadilla.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 60 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 250,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 16× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 60 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 43 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 25 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 24 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 6.3 58 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 47 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 27 km NE 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 18.3934, -67.4312. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) ESE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) E earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) ENE earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 34 km (21 mi) ESE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) E earthquakes near Moca Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 44 km (27 mi) SE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 24 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 13 km NW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 Mona Passage
  4. 2.7 58 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 22 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.4 24 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.7 19 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.8 32 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 7 km SSW of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 7 km ENE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.9 Mona Passage
  12. 3.0 19 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.0 2 km NW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 2 km SSW of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.0 48 km NW of San Antonio, 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.