QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Capitanejo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Capitanejo in the 24 hours to 3:47 pm AST (19:47 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 35 km (22 mi) WSW, at 3:45 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Capitanejo

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded in Capitanejo, PR, at 4:40 am AST on 23 April 2018 (08:40 UTC), 20 km deep.

USGS: 1 km S of Capitanejo, Puerto Rico

9 km (6 mi) E of Ponce, PR

4:40 am AST, Apr 23, 2018 · · 20 km deep · released about 9.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Capitanejo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Juana Díaz Municipio 5 kmPonce Municipio 7 kmVillalba Municipio 16 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 17 kmPeñuelas Municipio 20 kmCoamo Municipio 22 kmJayuya Municipio 24 kmOrocovis Municipio 26 kmGuayanilla Municipio 28 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
4:40 am AST on 23 April 2018 ()
Where
in Capitanejo, PR · earthquakes near Capitanejo
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Juana Díaz Municipio, 5 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3124 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. 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: Aguilita, Potala Pastillo, Coto Laurel, Luis Llorens Torres, Juana Díaz, Río Cañas Abajo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 9.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 99× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 9.6 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 18.0023, -66.5361. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) E earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 7 km (5 mi) W earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NNE earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) ESE earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) W earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) ENE earthquakes near Coamo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 Puerto Rico region
  2. 1.9 3 km NNE of Río Cañas Abajo, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.6 2 km W of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 8 km SSE of Jauca, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.8 2 km E of Aguilita, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.6 4 km N of Los Llanos, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 6 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.6 1 km SSW of Mariano Colón, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.7 8 km ESE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.8 13 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.1 22 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.9 10 km SSE of Lares, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 3 km NW of Barahona, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.7 8 km S of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.8 8 km S of Potala Pastillo, 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.