QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Mayagüez, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Mayagüez in the 24 hours to 3:27 pm AST (19:27 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 25 km (15 mi) SSE, at 3:17 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Mayagüez

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) west-southwest of Mayagüez, PR, at 6:32 pm AST on 3 March 2018 (22:32 UTC), 43 km deep.

USGS: 37 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico

97 km (60 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 46 km (29 mi) WSW of Mayagüez, PR

6:32 pm AST, Mar 3, 2018 · · 43 km deep · released about 400 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Mayagüez Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mayagüez Municipio 37 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 38 kmRincón Municipio 46 kmHormigueros Municipio 46 kmAñasco Municipio 52 kmLajas Municipio 53 kmAguada Municipio 54 kmSan Germán Municipio 54 kmMoca Municipio 62 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
6:32 pm AST on 3 March 2018 ()
Where
46 km (29 mi) west-southwest of Mayagüez, PR · earthquakes near Mayagüez
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
43 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mayagüez Municipio, 37 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3175 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 Mayagüez, 46 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 400 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 38,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 27,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 400 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 210 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 25 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 24 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 18.0341, -67.5425. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) W earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 38 km (24 mi) E earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 46 km (28 mi) NE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 46 km (29 mi) ENE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 52 km (32 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 53 km (33 mi) E earthquakes near Lajas Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 29 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 22 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.5 17 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.8 2 km NE of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 42 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.9 34 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 34 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 22 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 37 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.2 14 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.1 53 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.3 5 km W of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.2 13 km SW of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.6 19 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.