QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tierras Nuevas Poniente in the 24 hours to 11:34 am AST (15:34 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 17 km (11 mi) WNW, at 2:05 am AST on 13 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) north-northwest of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR, at 1:53 pm AST on 18 April 2018 (17:53 UTC), 38 km deep.

USGS: 28 km NNW of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico

62 km (38 mi) NW of San Juan, PR · 35 km (22 mi) NE of Arecibo, PR

1:53 pm AST, Apr 18, 2018 · · 38 km deep · released about 250 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Barceloneta Municipio 27 kmManatí Municipio 31 kmVega Baja Municipio 33 kmArecibo Municipio 34 kmVega Alta Municipio 38 kmFlorida Municipio 38 kmHatillo Municipio 40 kmDorado Municipio 40 kmCamuy Municipio 45 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
1:53 pm AST on 18 April 2018 ()
Where
29 km (18 mi) north-northwest of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR · earthquakes near Tierras Nuevas Poniente
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
38 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Barceloneta Municipio, 27 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3040 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 Tierras Nuevas Poniente, 29 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: Garrochales, Barceloneta, La Luisa.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 250 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 61,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 43,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 250 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 4.8 on 2017-08-18 — about 1,900 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 46 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 17 km S of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 64 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 37 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 66 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 44 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 68 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 48 km NNW 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 18.7140, -66.5490. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) S earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) S earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 33 km (20 mi) SSE earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 34 km (21 mi) SSW earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 38 km (24 mi) SE earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 38 km (24 mi) S earthquakes near Florida Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 8 km NNE of Jayuya, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  3. 2.2 74 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 73 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 12 km NNE of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 9 km NNW of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.8 2 km NW of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.8 4 km N of Barceloneta, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 29 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.2 5 km NNW of Levittown, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.9 74 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 4 km NNW of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 9 km N of Levittown, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.3 63 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.6 20 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.