QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Puerto Real, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Puerto Real in the 24 hours to 8:11 pm AST (00:11 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 10 km (6 mi) SE, at 11:57 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Puerto Real

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 46 km (29 mi) west-northwest of Puerto Real, PR, at 9:14 pm AST on 27 August 2018 (01:14 UTC), 7.0 km deep.

USGS: 42 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico

50 km (31 mi) W of Mayagüez, PR · 106 km (66 mi) W of Ponce, PR

9:14 pm AST, Aug 27, 2018 · · 7.0 km deep · released about 88 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Puerto Real Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mayagüez Municipio 30 kmRincón Municipio 43 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 49 kmAguada Municipio 51 kmHormigueros Municipio 52 kmAñasco Municipio 52 kmAguadilla Municipio 60 kmMoca Municipio 61 kmSan Germán Municipio 61 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 27 August 2018 ()
Where
46 km (29 mi) west-northwest of Puerto Real, PR · earthquakes near Puerto Real
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
7.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mayagüez Municipio, 30 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2998 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Puerto Real, 46 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 88 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 170,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 120,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 88 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 1,400 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 · 45 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 26 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 25 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 18.1661, -67.6115. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 43 km (27 mi) ENE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 49 km (31 mi) ESE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 51 km (31 mi) ENE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 52 km (33 mi) E earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 52 km (33 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 6 km W of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.4 22 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 43 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.8 1 km W of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.7 4 km S of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.9 16 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.9 19 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 10 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.0 66 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  10. 2.8 65 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 11 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.0 65 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  13. 1.8 8 km WSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.0 11 km NW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.6 29 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.