QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Hatillo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Hatillo in the 24 hours to 1:34 pm AST (17:34 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 40 km (25 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Hatillo

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) north of Hatillo, PR, at 4:48 am AST on 29 March 2018 (08:48 UTC), 68 km deep.

USGS: 16 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico

87 km (54 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 23 km (14 mi) NNW of Arecibo, PR

4:48 am AST, Mar 29, 2018 · · 68 km deep · released about 110 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hatillo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Quebradillas Municipio 20 kmCamuy Municipio 21 kmHatillo Municipio 22 kmIsabela Municipio 24 kmArecibo Municipio 29 kmAguadilla Municipio 35 kmBarceloneta Municipio 36 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 36 kmMoca Municipio 37 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
4:48 am AST on 29 March 2018 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) north of Hatillo, PR · earthquakes near Hatillo
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
68 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Quebradillas Municipio, 20 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3149 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Hatillo, 16 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Camuy, Carrizales, Quebradillas, Corcovado, Piedra Gorda, Arecibo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 110 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 140,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 99,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 8.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 110 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 4.0 on 2017-03-24 — about 280 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.7 45 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 42 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 36 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 46 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 44 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 41 km WSW 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 18.6320, -66.8501. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) SSW earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) S earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) SSE earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) SW earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) SE earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 35 km (22 mi) WSW earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 20 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 34 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.7 15 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.8 27 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.8 5 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.5 8 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.6 11 km NE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.5 17 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.0 45 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.9 37 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 5 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 2 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.8 4 km E of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.0 4 km E of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.9 6 km NE of Maricao, 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.