QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7md

Earthquake near Hatillo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Hatillo in the 24 hours to 4:21 pm AST (20:21 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 40 km (25 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Hatillo

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 24 km (15 mi) north of Hatillo, PR, at 10:27 pm AST on 24 September 2018 (02:27 UTC), 20 km deep.

USGS: 23 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico

84 km (52 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 28 km (17 mi) NNW of Arecibo, PR

10:27 pm AST, Sep 24, 2018 · · 20 km deep · released about 320 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hatillo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hatillo Municipio 28 kmCamuy Municipio 29 kmQuebradillas Municipio 29 kmArecibo Municipio 32 kmIsabela Municipio 33 kmBarceloneta Municipio 36 kmManatí Municipio 43 kmAguadilla Municipio 43 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 44 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
10:27 pm AST on 24 September 2018 ()
Where
24 km (15 mi) north of Hatillo, PR · earthquakes near Hatillo
Magnitude
M 2.7 (md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hatillo Municipio, 28 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2902 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Hatillo, 24 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Carrizales, Camuy, Arecibo, Corcovado, Quebradillas.

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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.7 on 2017-07-17 — about 930 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.7 45 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 41 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 41 km W of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 38 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 48 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 40 km W 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 18.6970, -66.8021. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hatillo Municipio, PR 28 km (18 mi) S earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) SSW earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) SSW earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) SSE earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 33 km (20 mi) SW earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 36 km (22 mi) SE earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 21 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 6 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.1 15 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 51 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.7 35 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.7 49 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  8. 2.5 Puerto Rico region
  9. 2.8 Puerto Rico region
  10. 2.9 61 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.2 66 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.6 56 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 3 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.3 23 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.9 65 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.