QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Arecibo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Arecibo in the 24 hours to 5:33 pm AST (21:33 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 2.3 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) north of Arecibo, PR, at 6:31 pm AST on 3 April 2018 (22:31 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

72 km (45 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 21 km (13 mi) N of Arecibo, PR

6:31 pm AST, Apr 3, 2018 · · 15 km deep · released about 98 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Arecibo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Arecibo Municipio 24 kmBarceloneta Municipio 25 kmHatillo Municipio 25 kmCamuy Municipio 28 kmQuebradillas Municipio 31 kmManatí Municipio 31 kmFlorida Municipio 34 kmIsabela Municipio 38 kmVega Baja Municipio 38 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
6:31 pm AST on 3 April 2018 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) north of Arecibo, PR · earthquakes near Arecibo
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Arecibo Municipio, 24 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3144 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Arecibo, 19 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Carrizales, Hatillo, Corcovado, Animas, Camuy, Bajadero.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 98 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 5.8 150,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 110,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 9.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 98 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 in our catalogue was M 4.0 on 2017-03-24 — about 310 times the energy of this one.

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 18.6448, -66.7006. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Arecibo Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) S earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) SE earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) SSW earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 28 km (17 mi) SW earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) SW earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) SE earthquakes near Manatí Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 7 km ENE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 2 km NNW of Barceloneta, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 12 km N of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 12 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.1 7 km NNW of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 16 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.6 28 km NNW of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.9 23 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.4 20 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.8 27 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 8 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.6 11 km NE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 45 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.9 2 km E of Jayuya, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.0 34 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.