QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Aguadilla, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Aguadilla in the 24 hours to 8:44 pm AST (00:44 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 4 km (3 mi) SE, at 12:03 am AST on 6 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Aguadilla

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 27 km (17 mi) north-northwest of Aguadilla, PR, at 10:05 am AST on 5 September 2018 (14:05 UTC), 78 km deep.

USGS: 23 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico

52 km (32 mi) NNW of Mayagüez, PR · 127 km (79 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR

10:05 am AST, Sep 5, 2018 · · 78 km deep · released about 150 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Aguadilla Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Aguadilla Municipio 22 kmIsabela Municipio 31 kmAguada Municipio 32 kmRincón Municipio 36 kmMoca Municipio 36 kmQuebradillas Municipio 39 kmAñasco Municipio 43 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 46 kmCamuy Municipio 46 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
10:05 am AST on 5 September 2018 ()
Where
27 km (17 mi) north-northwest of Aguadilla, PR · earthquakes near Aguadilla
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
78 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Aguadilla Municipio, 22 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2989 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 Aguadilla, 27 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: Caban, Rafael Hernandez, Isabela.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 150 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 72,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 150 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 4.3 on 2017-10-14 — about 580 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.7 45 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 31 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 7 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 16 km WSW of this epicentre
  4. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 24 km S of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 12 km S 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 18.6588, -67.2415. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) SSE earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) SE earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) S earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 36 km (22 mi) S earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 36 km (22 mi) SSE earthquakes near Moca Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 39 km (24 mi) ESE earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 3 km NW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.2 9 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 43 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.6 8 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 61 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.0 56 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 67 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.6 50 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.1 2 km E of San Sebastián, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.2 27 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 23 km NNW of Camuy, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.7 23 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 48 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.6 38 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.7 32 km NW of San Antonio, 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.