QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Aguada, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Aguada in the 24 hours to 2:01 am AST (06:01 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 7 km (5 mi) ENE, at 12:03 am AST on 6 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Aguada

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 50 km (31 mi) west of Aguada, PR, at 8:27 pm AST on 17 October 2018 (00:27 UTC), 101 km deep.

USGS: 42 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico

56 km (35 mi) WNW of Mayagüez, PR · 115 km (72 mi) WNW of Ponce, PR

8:27 pm AST, Oct 17, 2018 · · 101 km deep · released about 610 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Aguada Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mayagüez Municipio 37 kmRincón Municipio 43 kmAguada Municipio 50 kmAñasco Municipio 56 kmAguadilla Municipio 56 kmMoca Municipio 61 kmHormigueros Municipio 61 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 63 kmIsabela Municipio 70 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
8:27 pm AST on 17 October 2018 ()
Where
50 km (31 mi) west of Aguada, PR · earthquakes near Aguada
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
101 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mayagüez Municipio, 37 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2882 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 Aguada, 50 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 610 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 25,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 18,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 610 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 200 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 42 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 48 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 58 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 28 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 34 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 35 km ESE 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 18.3340, -67.6558. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) SW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 43 km (27 mi) E earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 50 km (31 mi) E earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 56 km (35 mi) E earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 56 km (35 mi) ENE earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 61 km (38 mi) E earthquakes near Moca Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 74 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.3 64 km ESE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  3. 2.8 37 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.8 33 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.8 30 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.6 16 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.1 24 km NE of Stella, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 9 km NW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.1 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.0 46 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.0 66 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  12. 2.0 9 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.8 69 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 35 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.0 58 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

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.