QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Barceloneta, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Barceloneta in the 24 hours to 2:01 am AST (06:01 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 14 km (9 mi) NW, at 2:05 am AST on 13 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Barceloneta

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) north-northwest of Barceloneta, PR, at 11:58 am AST on 29 April 2018 (15:58 UTC), 92 km deep.

USGS: 2 km NNW of Barceloneta, Puerto Rico

52 km (32 mi) W of San Juan, PR · 20 km (12 mi) E of Arecibo, PR

11:58 am AST, Apr 29, 2018 · · 92 km deep · released about 490 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Barceloneta Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Barceloneta Municipio 1 kmManatí Municipio 6 kmFlorida Municipio 11 kmArecibo Municipio 14 kmVega Baja Municipio 16 kmCiales Municipio 19 kmMorovis Municipio 22 kmVega Alta Municipio 23 kmHatillo Municipio 26 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
11:58 am AST on 29 April 2018 ()
Where
2 km (1 mi) north-northwest of Barceloneta, PR · earthquakes near Barceloneta
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
92 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Barceloneta Municipio, 1 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3031 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 Barceloneta, 2 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Garrochales, Imbery, La Luisa, Bufalo, Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Manatí.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 490 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 31,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 22,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 490 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 · 11 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 49 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 22 km E 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 18.4680, -66.5490. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 1 km (1 mi) WNW earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) ESE earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) S earthquakes near Florida Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) WSW earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) E earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Ciales Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) S earthquakes near Ciales Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 2 km SSW of Bayamón, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  3. 1.7 8 km NW of Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 12 km NNE of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 9 km NNW of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 2 km NW of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.8 4 km N of Barceloneta, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.6 29 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 6 km NE of Comerío, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 0 km ENE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.2 5 km NNW of Levittown, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.2 3 km NNW of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 4 km NNW of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.7 1 km ESE of Guayabal, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.9 9 km N of Levittown, 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.