QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near La Playa, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in La Playa in the 24 hours to 1:36 pm AST (17:36 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 28 km (17 mi) WSW, at 12:57 am AST on 19 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near La Playa

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) west of La Playa, PR, at 2:20 am AST on 21 July 2018 (06:20 UTC), 77 km deep.

USGS: 43 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico

53 km (33 mi) W of Mayagüez, PR · 110 km (68 mi) WNW of Ponce, PR

2:20 am AST, Jul 21, 2018 · · 77 km deep · released about 43 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near La Playa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mayagüez Municipio 29 kmRincón Municipio 44 kmAguada Municipio 52 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 54 kmAñasco Municipio 55 kmHormigueros Municipio 56 kmAguadilla Municipio 60 kmMoca Municipio 62 kmSan Germán Municipio 65 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
2:20 am AST on 21 July 2018 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) west of La Playa, PR · earthquakes near La Playa
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
77 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mayagüez Municipio, 29 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3035 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 La Playa, 49 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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 4.4 on 2017-10-01 — about 2,800 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 58 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 40 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 29 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 29 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 18.2105, -67.6416. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 44 km (27 mi) ENE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 52 km (32 mi) ENE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 54 km (34 mi) ESE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 55 km (34 mi) E earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 56 km (35 mi) E earthquakes near Hormigueros 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. 2.4 24 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.8 7 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 4 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 4 km S of Stella, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.8 39 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.5 37 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.0 58 km ESE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  8. 2.4 40 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 39 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 53 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.9 56 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.8 2 km W of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.8 6 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.1 68 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.2 18 km W of Rincón, 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.