QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5Md

Earthquake near Rincón, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Rincón in the 24 hours to 2:13 am AST (06:13 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 2.5 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) north-northwest of Rincón, PR, at 3:05 am AST on 18 September 2016 (07:05 UTC), 94 km deep.

USGS: 15 km NNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico

35 km (22 mi) NNW of Mayagüez, PR · 133 km (82 mi) W of San Juan, PR

3:05 am AST, Sep 18, 2016 · · 94 km deep · released about 170 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Rincón Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 16 kmAguada Municipio 17 kmAguadilla Municipio 19 kmMoca Municipio 27 kmAñasco Municipio 28 kmIsabela Municipio 32 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 40 kmQuebradillas Municipio 41 kmHormigueros Municipio 42 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
3:05 am AST on 18 September 2016 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) north-northwest of Rincón, PR · earthquakes near Rincón
Magnitude
M 2.5 (Md)
Depth
94 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 16 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3621 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Rincón, 16 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Aguada, Stella, Aguadilla, Caban, Luyando, Moca.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 170 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 89,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 63,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 170 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 · 30 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 18 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 11 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 13 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 24 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 18.4640, -67.3200. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) SSE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) SE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) E earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) ESE earthquakes near Moca Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 28 km (17 mi) SE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) E earthquakes near Isabela Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 7 km W of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.7 4 km W of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.4 10 km NW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.7 7 km WSW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.0 4 km SW of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.4 14 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.9 2 km NNW of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.1 Mona Passage
  9. 1.6 2 km SSW of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 36 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 2 km SSE of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.1 41 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 3 km N of Sabana Eneas, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 47 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 24 km SW of Stella, 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.