QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near Puerto Real, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Puerto Real in the 24 hours to 8:41 pm AST (00:41 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 3.0 earthquake was recorded 25 km (15 mi) west of Puerto Real, PR, at 2:32 am AST on 20 February 2018 (06:32 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 24 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico

33 km (20 mi) WSW of Mayagüez, PR · 148 km (92 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

2:32 am AST, Feb 20, 2018 · · 11 km deep · released about 950 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Puerto Real Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cabo Rojo Municipio 27 kmHormigueros Municipio 33 kmRincón Municipio 35 kmAñasco Municipio 39 kmSan Germán Municipio 41 kmLajas Municipio 41 kmAguada Municipio 42 kmMoca Municipio 49 kmMayagüez Municipio 49 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
2:32 am AST on 20 February 2018 ()
Where
25 km (15 mi) west of Puerto Real, PR · earthquakes near Puerto Real
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cabo Rojo Municipio, 27 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3096 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, 25 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 25 km, intensity II · Pole Ojea 27 km, intensity II · Mayagüez 33 km, intensity II · Rincón 35 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 950 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 11,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 950 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2017-10-14 — about 89 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 46 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 14 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 12 km NNE 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 18.0730, -67.4190. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) ESE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 33 km (20 mi) ENE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 35 km (21 mi) NNE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 39 km (24 mi) NE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 41 km (25 mi) E earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 41 km (26 mi) ESE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 3 km WSW of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 24 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 8 km S of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 1 km N of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.7 6 km E of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 5 km W of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 9 km S of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 5 km WNW of Aguada, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.1 15 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.7 7 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.6 6 km SW of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.1 16 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.8 69 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.4 1 km SE of Stella, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.6 39 km WSW 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.