QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Mayagüez, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Mayagüez in the 24 hours to 12:12 pm AST (16:12 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 2.3 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) west of Mayagüez, PR, at 3:50 am AST on 1 April 2018 (07:50 UTC), 23 km deep.

USGS: 37 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico

48 km (30 mi) W of Mayagüez, PR · 106 km (66 mi) WNW of Ponce, PR

3:50 am AST, Apr 1, 2018 · · 23 km deep · released about 88 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Mayagüez Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mayagüez Municipio 35 kmRincón Municipio 38 kmAguada Municipio 46 kmAñasco Municipio 49 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 52 kmHormigueros Municipio 52 kmAguadilla Municipio 55 kmMoca Municipio 57 kmSan Germán Municipio 61 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
3:50 am AST on 1 April 2018 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) west of Mayagüez, PR · earthquakes near Mayagüez
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
23 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mayagüez Municipio, 35 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3146 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 Mayagüez, 48 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 88 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 170,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 120,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 88 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 4.4 on 2017-10-01 — about 1,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 47 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 46 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 58 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 40 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 25 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 25 km ESE 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 18.2411, -67.5958. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 35 km (22 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 38 km (24 mi) ENE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 46 km (28 mi) ENE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 49 km (31 mi) E earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 52 km (32 mi) ESE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 52 km (32 mi) ESE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 12 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.9 50 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 25 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.7 15 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 2 km N of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.0 51 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  7. 3.0 54 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  8. 2.4 20 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.1 52 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.7 42 km WSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 48 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 18 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 19 km ESE of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 8 km SSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 44 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.