QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Brenas, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Brenas in the 24 hours to 5:36 pm AST (21:36 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 87 km (54 mi) SW, at 9:19 am AST on 18 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Brenas

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) north of Brenas, PR, at 11:20 pm AST on 26 July 2018 (03:20 UTC), 71 km deep.

USGS: 14 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico

38 km (24 mi) NW of San Juan, PR · 32 km (20 mi) NW of Bayamón, PR

11:20 pm AST, Jul 26, 2018 · · 71 km deep · released about 46 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Brenas Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vega Baja Municipio 16 kmDorado Municipio 17 kmVega Alta Municipio 18 kmManatí Municipio 22 kmToa Baja Municipio 23 kmBarceloneta Municipio 25 kmCataño Municipio 28 kmToa Alta Municipio 28 kmMorovis Municipio 31 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
11:20 pm AST on 26 July 2018 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) north of Brenas, PR · earthquakes near Brenas
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
71 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Vega Baja Municipio, 16 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3030 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 Brenas, 14 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: Sabana, Ceiba, Vega Baja, San Antonio, Monserrate, Dorado.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 46 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 5.8 330,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 21× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 46 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 10,000 times the energy of this one.

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 · 22 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 44 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 11 km SSE 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 18.5940, -66.3620. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) SSW earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) SE earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) S earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 22 km (13 mi) SW earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 23 km (15 mi) SE earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) WSW earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 5 km ESE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 57 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 5 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 35 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 17 km NNE of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.7 6 km NW of Sabana, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 3 km WSW of Sumidero, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.8 51 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 8 km NNE of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.9 22 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.4 31 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.7 28 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.7 Puerto Rico region
  14. 2.4 18 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.4 13 km NNE of Arecibo, 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.