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 3:39 am AST (07:39 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 15 km (9 mi) west-southwest of Puerto Real, PR, at 1:31 pm AST on 27 September 2018 (17:31 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 15 km WSW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico

27 km (17 mi) SW of Mayagüez, PR · 139 km (87 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

1:31 pm AST, Sep 27, 2018 · · 12 km deep · released about 91 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Puerto Real Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cabo Rojo Municipio 16 kmHormigueros Municipio 25 kmLajas Municipio 31 kmSan Germán Municipio 31 kmAñasco Municipio 35 kmRincón Municipio 35 kmSabana Grande Municipio 40 kmAguada Municipio 41 kmLas Marías Municipio 42 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
1:31 pm AST on 27 September 2018 ()
Where
15 km (9 mi) west-southwest of Puerto Real, PR · earthquakes near Puerto Real
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cabo Rojo Municipio, 16 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2968 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 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Puerto Real, 15 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: Puerto Real 15 km, intensity II · Pole Ojea 16 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 91 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 10× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 91 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 930 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 47 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 49 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 18 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 16 km NNW 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 18.0343, -67.3228. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) ESE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) ENE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) ESE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) ENE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 35 km (22 mi) NE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 35 km (22 mi) NNE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 8 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.8 1 km SSW of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.6 2 km SSW of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 0 km ESE of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.7 2 km S of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.6 3 km SSW of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 3 km WSW of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 3 km WNW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 3 km NNE of Espino, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.9 13 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.1 10 km S of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 1 km SSW of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.7 Mona Passage
  14. 1.6 12 km NE of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.4 23 km NW 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.