QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7md

Earthquake near Sabana, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Sabana in the 24 hours to 6:06 pm AST (22:06 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 85 km (53 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 Sabana

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) northwest of Sabana, PR, at 6:13 am AST on 15 September 2018 (10:13 UTC), 103 km deep.

USGS: 6 km NW of Sabana, Puerto Rico

37 km (23 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 29 km (18 mi) WNW of Bayamón, PR

6:13 am AST, Sep 15, 2018 · · 103 km deep · released about 350 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Sabana Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vega Baja Municipio 6 kmVega Alta Municipio 11 kmManatí Municipio 12 kmDorado Municipio 15 kmBarceloneta Municipio 17 kmMorovis Municipio 21 kmToa Baja Municipio 23 kmFlorida Municipio 23 kmToa Alta Municipio 23 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
6:13 am AST on 15 September 2018 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) northwest of Sabana, PR · earthquakes near Sabana
Magnitude
M 2.7 (md)
Depth
103 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Vega Baja Municipio, 6 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2912 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Sabana, 7 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: Vega Baja, Brenas, Ceiba, Monserrate, Coto Norte, Tierras Nuevas Poniente.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 350 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 43,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 31,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 350 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 1,400 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 · 18 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 39 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 6 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 18.5086, -66.4018. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) S earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) SE earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) SW earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) ESE earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) WSW earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Morovis Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) S earthquakes near Morovis Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 16 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.7 7 km NNW of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 28 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 43 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 3 km NE of Animas, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.6 2 km E of Bayamon, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 3 km SSW of Vega Alta, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 2 km SW of Corozal, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 3 km NW of Guayabal, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 2 km SSW of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 40 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.8 Puerto Rico region
  13. 1.7 7 km SE of Pájaros, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  15. 2.8 Puerto Rico region

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.