QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7md

Earthquake near Toa Baja, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Toa Baja in the 24 hours to 12:56 pm AST (16:56 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 92 km (57 mi) SW, at 9:19 am AST on 18 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Toa Baja

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) southwest of Toa Baja, PR, at 6:19 pm AST on 16 February 2018 (22:19 UTC), 56 km deep.

USGS: 2 km SW of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico

23 km (14 mi) W of San Juan, PR · 14 km (8 mi) WNW of Bayamón, PR

6:19 pm AST, Feb 16, 2018 · · 56 km deep · released about 390 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Toa Baja Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dorado Municipio 5 kmVega Alta Municipio 6 kmToa Alta Municipio 8 kmToa Baja Municipio 10 kmVega Baja Municipio 13 kmCataño Municipio 14 kmCorozal Municipio 15 kmBayamón Municipio 15 kmNaranjito Municipio 16 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
6:19 pm AST on 16 February 2018 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) southwest of Toa Baja, PR · earthquakes near Toa Baja
Magnitude
M 2.7 (md)
Depth
56 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Dorado Municipio, 5 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3190 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 Toa Baja, 3 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: San Antonio, Dorado, Río Lajas, San José, Campanilla, Vega Alta.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 390 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 39,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 28,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 390 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 · 33 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 24 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 10 km NW 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 18.4291, -66.2820. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dorado Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) NNE earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) W earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Toa Alta Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) SSE earthquakes near Toa Alta Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) ENE earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) WNW earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Cataño Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) E earthquakes near Cataño Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 2 km NW of Bayamon, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 35 km NNE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 2 km E of Jayuya, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 5 km SE of Pájaros, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.8 9 km ENE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.9 5 km NE of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.0 0 km SE of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.6 19 km NNE of Arecibo, 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.