QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Guayabal, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Guayabal in the 24 hours to 4:07 am AST (08:07 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 28 km (17 mi) SSE, at 7:09 pm AST on 5 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Guayabal

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded in Guayabal, PR, at 8:26 pm AST on 2 January 2018 (00:26 UTC), 18 km deep.

USGS: 1 km SSW of Guayabal, Puerto Rico

15 km (9 mi) ENE of Ponce, PR

8:26 pm AST, Jan 2, 2018 · · 18 km deep · released about 19 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Guayabal Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Villalba Municipio 8 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 8 kmPonce Municipio 13 kmCoamo Municipio 16 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 18 kmJayuya Municipio 18 kmOrocovis Municipio 18 kmPeñuelas Municipio 24 kmBarranquitas Municipio 25 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
8:26 pm AST on 2 January 2018 ()
Where
in Guayabal, PR · earthquakes near Guayabal
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Villalba Municipio, 8 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3235 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. 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: Juana Díaz, Luis Llorens Torres, Río Cañas Abajo, Coto Laurel, Aguilita, Villalba.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 19 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 810,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 580,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 51× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 19 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 one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 44 km ENE 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 18.0681, -66.5045. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Villalba Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) NNE earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) S earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) SW earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) ENE earthquakes near Coamo Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) SE earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Jayuya Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) NNW earthquakes near Jayuya Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 5 km N of Yaurel, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.9 5 km NNW of Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.1 5 km N of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  5. 3.0 4 km SE of G. L. Garcia, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 12 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 6 km SSE of Lares, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.8 3 km NNE of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 7 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.9 11 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.7 10 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.2 23 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.0 9 km NNE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.2 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.5 10 km S of Jobos, 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.