QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Cataño, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Cataño in the 24 hours to 7:55 pm AST (23:55 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 99 km (61 mi) ESE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Cataño

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded in Cataño, PR, at 10:13 pm AST on 6 January 2018 (02:13 UTC), 109 km deep.

USGS: 1 km WSW of Cataño, Puerto Rico

8 km (5 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 7 km (5 mi) NNE of Bayamón, PR

10:13 pm AST, Jan 6, 2018 · · 109 km deep · released about 590 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Cataño Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cataño Municipio 2 kmSan Juan Municipio 7 kmToa Baja Municipio 7 kmGuaynabo Municipio 11 kmBayamón Municipio 11 kmDorado Municipio 14 kmToa Alta Municipio 15 kmTrujillo Alto Municipio 18 kmCarolina Municipio 18 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
10:13 pm AST on 6 January 2018 ()
Where
in Cataño, PR · earthquakes near Cataño
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
109 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cataño Municipio, 2 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3155 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. 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: San Juan, Bayamón, Levittown, Sabana Seca, Eleanor Roosevelt, Candelaria.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 590 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 26,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 18,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 590 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 48 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 20 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 23 km WNW 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 18.4386, -66.1303. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cataño Municipio, PR 2 km (1 mi) WNW earthquakes near Cataño Municipio
San Juan Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) ESE earthquakes near San Juan Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) WNW earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio
Guaynabo Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) S earthquakes near Guaynabo Municipio
Bayamón Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) SSW earthquakes near Bayamón Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) WNW earthquakes near Dorado Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 20 km N of Loíza, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 37 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.1 2 km NW of Bayamon, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 35 km NNE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 5 km SE of Pájaros, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 9 km ENE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.9 5 km NE of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.0 0 km SE of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 3 km N of Corozal, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.7 22 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 4 km NW of Bairoa, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 9 km N of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 6 km NW of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 1 km N of Bayamón, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.4 8 km ESE of Jayuya, 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.