QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Earthquake near San Juan, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in San Juan in the 24 hours to 1:01 pm AST (17:01 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 99 km (62 mi) SE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near San Juan

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 32 km (20 mi) north of San Juan, PR, at 11:16 pm AST on 20 June 2018 (03:16 UTC), 42 km deep.

USGS: 31 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico

39 km (24 mi) N of San Juan, PR

11:16 pm AST, Jun 20, 2018 · · 42 km deep · released about 210 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near San Juan Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Toa Baja Municipio 34 kmCataño Municipio 34 kmDorado Municipio 35 kmSan Juan Municipio 37 kmLoíza Municipio 38 kmCarolina Municipio 42 kmVega Alta Municipio 43 kmBayamón Municipio 45 kmGuaynabo 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
11:16 pm AST on 20 June 2018 ()
Where
32 km (20 mi) north of San Juan, PR · earthquakes near San Juan
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
42 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Toa Baja Municipio, 34 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3065 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 San Juan, 32 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 210 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 72,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 51,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 210 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 2,300 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.1 66 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 45 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 37 km SW 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 18.7506, -66.1018. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 34 km (21 mi) SSW earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio
Cataño Municipio, PR 34 km (21 mi) S earthquakes near Cataño Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 35 km (22 mi) SSW earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
San Juan Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) S earthquakes near San Juan Municipio
Loíza Municipio, PR 38 km (24 mi) SSE earthquakes near Loíza Municipio
Carolina Municipio, PR 42 km (26 mi) SSE earthquakes near Carolina Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 24 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 3 km SSE of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 31 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 33 km NNW of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.8 3 km NNE of Naranjito, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 50 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 1 km NE of Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.9 5 km SE of Cataño, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.1 7 km E of Naranjito, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 33 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.1 14 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 3 km ENE of Bayamón, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.9 8 km NNW of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 31 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.9 49 km N of Brenas, 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.