QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Arecibo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Arecibo in the 24 hours to 3:12 pm AST (19:12 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 49 km (31 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Arecibo

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) north-northeast of Arecibo, PR, at 8:17 am AST on 13 March 2018 (12:17 UTC), 99 km deep.

USGS: 40 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico

67 km (42 mi) NW of San Juan, PR · 47 km (29 mi) NNE of Arecibo, PR

8:17 am AST, Mar 13, 2018 · · 99 km deep · released about 510 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Arecibo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Barceloneta Municipio 40 kmManatí Municipio 43 kmVega Baja Municipio 43 kmArecibo Municipio 47 kmVega Alta Municipio 48 kmDorado Municipio 48 kmFlorida Municipio 51 kmHatillo Municipio 52 kmToa Baja Municipio 53 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
8:17 am AST on 13 March 2018 ()
Where
45 km (28 mi) north-northeast of Arecibo, PR · earthquakes near Arecibo
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
99 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Barceloneta Municipio, 40 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3165 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 Arecibo, 45 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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 510 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 30,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 21,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 510 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 4.8 on 2017-08-18 — about 930 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 39 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 78 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico · 41 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 30 km S of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 78 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 38 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 57 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico · 48 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 18.8278, -66.5166. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 40 km (25 mi) S earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 43 km (27 mi) S earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 43 km (27 mi) SSE earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 47 km (29 mi) SSW earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 48 km (30 mi) SSE earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 48 km (30 mi) SE earthquakes near Dorado Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 47 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 7 km ENE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 2 km NNW of Barceloneta, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.1 7 km NNW of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.8 16 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 81 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.8 37 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.6 28 km NNW of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.9 23 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 20 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 27 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 8 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 34 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.0 0 km SE of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 45 km N of Hatillo, 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.