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 1:35 am AST (05:35 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 11 km (7 mi) north-northwest of Puerto Real, PR, at 9:12 pm AST on 18 October 2018 (01:12 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 10 km NNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico

12 km (7 mi) WSW of Mayagüez, PR · 127 km (79 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

9:12 pm AST, Oct 18, 2018 · · 15 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 Hormigueros Municipio 13 kmAñasco Municipio 19 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 19 kmRincón Municipio 20 kmSan Germán Municipio 22 kmAguada Municipio 25 kmLas Marías Municipio 29 kmLajas Municipio 29 kmMoca Municipio 30 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
9:12 pm AST on 18 October 2018 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) north-northwest of Puerto Real, PR · earthquakes near Puerto Real
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hormigueros Municipio, 13 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2946 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Puerto Real, 11 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 11 km, intensity II · Mayagüez 12 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 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 32 km N of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 44 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 33 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 14 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 14 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 18.1563, -67.2418. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) E earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) SSE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) N earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) ESE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) NNE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 Puerto Rico region
  2. 2.1 1 km E of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 1 km S of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 2 km SSW of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.0 10 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 9 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 17 km SW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.1 34 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.4 10 km NW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 2 km W of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.6 0 km E of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 1 km SW of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.9 20 km WSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.6 6 km NE of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 0 km N 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.