QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1md

Earthquake near Puerto Real, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Puerto Real in the 24 hours to 2:48 pm AST (18:48 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 10 km (6 mi) SE, at 11:57 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Puerto Real

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) west-northwest of Puerto Real, PR, at 2:29 am AST on 6 February 2018 (06:29 UTC), 19 km deep.

USGS: 22 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico

26 km (16 mi) W of Mayagüez, PR · 142 km (88 mi) W of San Juan, PR

2:29 am AST, Feb 6, 2018 · · 19 km deep · released about 1,200 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Puerto Real Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 25 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 28 kmHormigueros Municipio 29 kmAñasco Municipio 30 kmAguada Municipio 32 kmSan Germán Municipio 37 kmMoca Municipio 41 kmLajas Municipio 41 kmLas Marías Municipio 44 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
2:29 am AST on 6 February 2018 ()
Where
23 km (14 mi) west-northwest of Puerto Real, PR · earthquakes near Puerto Real
Magnitude
M 3.1 (md)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 25 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3200 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 35 km (22 mi) from the epicentre. In Puerto Real, 23 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.

Likely felt in: Puerto Real 23 km, intensity II · Rincón 25 km, intensity II · Mayagüez 26 km, intensity II · Pole Ojea 29 km, intensity II · Aguada 32 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,200 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 290,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 13,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 9,100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,200 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.2× more

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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2017-10-14 — about 72 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 36 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 47 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 43 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 4 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 2 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 18.1566, -67.3850. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) NE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 28 km (17 mi) SE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) E earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) NE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) E earthquakes near San Germán Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 1 km SE of Añasco, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.2 6 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 6 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 12 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 4 km W of San Sebastián, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.6 5 km SSW of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.6 8 km SE of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.1 6 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 7 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 6 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 7 km WNW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.8 37 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 5 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.4 12 km WSW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.8 4 km E of Las Marías, 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.