QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Bayamón, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Bayamón in the 24 hours to 12:01 am AST (04:01 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 98 km (61 mi) WSW, at 9:19 am AST on 18 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Bayamón

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) southwest of Bayamón, PR, at 8:30 pm AST on 16 May 2018 (00:30 UTC), 103 km deep.

USGS: 3 km N of Palomas, Puerto Rico

26 km (16 mi) SW of San Juan, PR · 16 km (10 mi) SW of Bayamón, PR

8:30 pm AST, May 16, 2018 · · 103 km deep · released about 680 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Bayamón Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Naranjito Municipio 3 kmComerío Municipio 6 kmCorozal Municipio 8 kmBarranquitas Municipio 9 kmToa Alta Municipio 11 kmBayamón Municipio 14 kmAguas Buenas Municipio 14 kmCidra Municipio 14 kmAibonito Municipio 15 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
8:30 pm AST on 16 May 2018 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) southwest of Bayamón, PR · earthquakes near Bayamón
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
103 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Naranjito Municipio, 3 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3010 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 Bayamón, 19 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: Naranjito, Comerío, H. Rivera Colon, Barranquitas, Corozal, Galateo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 680 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 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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 · 46 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 13 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 28 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 18.2645, -66.2603. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Naranjito Municipio, PR 3 km (2 mi) NNE earthquakes near Naranjito Municipio
Comerío Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) SE earthquakes near Comerío Municipio
Corozal Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) WNW earthquakes near Corozal Municipio
Barranquitas Municipio, PR 9 km (5 mi) SW earthquakes near Barranquitas Municipio
Toa Alta Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) N earthquakes near Toa Alta Municipio
Bayamón Municipio, PR 14 km (8 mi) NE earthquakes near Bayamón Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 4 km NNE of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.5 0 km NNW of Buena Vista, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 5 km ENE of G. L. Garcia, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 0 km SE of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 1 km NE of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.2 6 km SSW of Lamboglia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 8 km NNE of Jayuya, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.9 11 km SSE of Jauca, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.8 5 km SE of Arroyo, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.0 6 km NE of Comerío, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 2 km SSW of Bayamón, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 4 km S of Arroyo, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 12 km NNE of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.7 3 km ESE of G. L. Garcia, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.9 9 km NNW of Garrochales, 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.