QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near Garrochales, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Garrochales in the 24 hours to 11:00 pm AST (03:00 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 12 km (7 mi) NW, at 2:05 am AST on 13 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Garrochales

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded in Garrochales, PR, at 10:39 am AST on 7 April 2018 (14:39 UTC), 116 km deep.

USGS: 0 km SE of Garrochales, Puerto Rico

53 km (33 mi) W of San Juan, PR · 18 km (11 mi) E of Arecibo, PR

10:39 am AST, Apr 7, 2018 · · 116 km deep · released about 1,100 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Garrochales Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Barceloneta Municipio 2 kmManatí Municipio 7 kmFlorida Municipio 9 kmArecibo Municipio 12 kmVega Baja Municipio 17 kmCiales Municipio 18 kmMorovis Municipio 21 kmVega Alta Municipio 24 kmUtuado Municipio 25 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
10:39 am AST on 7 April 2018 ()
Where
in Garrochales, PR · earthquakes near Garrochales
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
116 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Barceloneta Municipio, 2 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3141 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. 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: Imbery, Barceloneta, Bufalo, La Luisa, Sabana Hoyos, La Alianza.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 320,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 14,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 10,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,100 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 13 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 50 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 24 km ENE 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 18.4488, -66.5625. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 2 km (1 mi) N earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 7 km (5 mi) E earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) S earthquakes near Florida Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) W earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) E earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Ciales Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) SSE earthquakes near Ciales Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 8 km ESE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 17 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 10 km SSE of Lares, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 3 km NW of Barahona, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.8 7 km ENE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 2 km NNW of Barceloneta, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 1 km WNW of Campanilla, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.8 12 km N of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.4 Puerto Rico region
  10. 1.7 3 km ESE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 8 km WSW of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.2 4 km SW of Comerío, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.9 12 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.1 7 km NNW of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.9 4 km SW of Coto Laurel, 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.