QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Hatillo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Hatillo in the 24 hours to 11:36 am AST (15:36 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 40 km (25 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Hatillo

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) north of Hatillo, PR, at 2:21 am AST on 28 May 2018 (06:21 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 20 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico

88 km (55 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 27 km (17 mi) NNW of Arecibo, PR

2:21 am AST, May 28, 2018 · · 12 km deep · released about 7.8 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hatillo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Quebradillas Municipio 24 kmCamuy Municipio 25 kmHatillo Municipio 26 kmIsabela Municipio 27 kmArecibo Municipio 32 kmAguadilla Municipio 37 kmBarceloneta Municipio 38 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 40 kmMoca Municipio 40 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
2:21 am AST on 28 May 2018 ()
Where
21 km (13 mi) north of Hatillo, PR · earthquakes near Hatillo
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Quebradillas Municipio, 24 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3089 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. In Hatillo, 21 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: Camuy, Carrizales, Quebradillas, Corcovado, Isabela, Arecibo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.8 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 4.0 on 2017-03-24 — about 3,800 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 15 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.7 45 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 39 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 36 km W of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 42 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 46 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 42 km WSW 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 18.6691, -66.8520. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) SSW earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) S earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) SSE earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) SW earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) SE earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) SW earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 15 km N of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 32 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 41 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.8 20 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.2 39 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.0 63 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.9 20 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.1 8 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 26 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 16 km N of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.6 60 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.8 56 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.6 1 km ESE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.6 6 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.9 59 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, 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.