QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Rincón, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Rincón in the 24 hours to 3:25 pm AST (19:25 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 53 km (33 mi) NNE, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Rincón

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) west-northwest of Rincón, PR, at 4:31 am AST on 12 April 2018 (08:31 UTC), 123 km deep.

USGS: 48 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico

4:31 am AST, Apr 12, 2018 · · 123 km deep · released about 720 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Rincón Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mayagüez Municipio 43 kmRincón Municipio 48 kmAguada Municipio 54 kmAguadilla Municipio 58 kmAñasco Municipio 62 kmMoca Municipio 65 kmHormigueros Municipio 69 kmIsabela Municipio 72 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 72 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
4:31 am AST on 12 April 2018 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) west-northwest of Rincón, PR · earthquakes near Rincón
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
123 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mayagüez Municipio, 43 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3050 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 Rincón, 48 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 720 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 21,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 15,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.3× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 720 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 170 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 39 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 58 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 19 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 43 km SE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 44 km SE 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 18.4260, -67.6953. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 43 km (27 mi) SSW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 48 km (30 mi) ESE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 54 km (34 mi) E earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 58 km (36 mi) E earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 62 km (38 mi) ESE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 65 km (41 mi) E earthquakes near Moca Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 45 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 28 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.9 73 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  4. 1.7 21 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.4 65 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  6. 3.1 55 km ESE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  7. 2.8 56 km ENE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  8. 2.8 58 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.7 51 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  10. 2.9 50 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 25 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.7 15 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 51 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  14. 3.0 54 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  15. 3.1 52 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.