QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7md

Earthquake near Florida, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Florida in the 24 hours to 5:40 pm AST (21:40 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 21 km (13 mi) NNW, at 2:05 am AST on 13 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Florida

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) east-southeast of Florida, PR, at 9:14 pm AST on 19 August 2018 (01:14 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 4 km ESE of Florida, Puerto Rico

50 km (31 mi) W of San Juan, PR · 25 km (16 mi) ESE of Arecibo, PR

9:14 pm AST, Aug 19, 2018 · · 16 km deep · released about 320 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Florida Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Florida Municipio 5 kmCiales Municipio 5 kmMorovis Municipio 12 kmManatí Municipio 12 kmBarceloneta Municipio 14 kmJayuya Municipio 16 kmOrocovis Municipio 17 kmArecibo Municipio 18 kmVega Baja Municipio 19 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
9:14 pm AST on 19 August 2018 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) east-southeast of Florida, PR · earthquakes near Florida
Magnitude
M 2.7 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Florida Municipio, 5 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2932 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Florida, 4 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.

Likely felt in: Ciales 6 km, intensity II · Barceloneta 12 km, intensity II · Jayuya 15 km, intensity II · Vega Baja 19 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 320 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 48,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 34,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 320 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 · 25 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 43 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 26 km NE 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 18.3433, -66.5290. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Florida Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) NW earthquakes near Florida Municipio
Ciales Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) SSE earthquakes near Ciales Municipio
Morovis Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) ESE earthquakes near Morovis Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) NNE earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) NNW earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Jayuya Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) SSW earthquakes near Jayuya Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 2 km S of San Sebastián, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.4 2 km SSE of Cidra, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 3 km WSW of Sumidero, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 11 km SSW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 6 km N of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.5 8 km NNE of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.7 5 km SW of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.9 6 km SE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.9 22 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 31 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 28 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.9 0 km SW of Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 18 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.3 2 km ESE of Tallaboa Alta, 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.