QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Earthquake near Vega Baja, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Vega Baja in the 24 hours to 12:26 am AST (04:26 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 81 km (51 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 Vega Baja

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) north of Vega Baja, PR, at 2:38 pm AST on 21 October 2018 (18:38 UTC), 70 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

58 km (36 mi) NW of San Juan, PR · 55 km (34 mi) NE of Arecibo, PR

2:38 pm AST, Oct 21, 2018 · · 70 km deep · released about 210 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Vega Baja Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vega Baja Municipio 41 kmDorado Municipio 41 kmBarceloneta Municipio 43 kmManatí Municipio 44 kmVega Alta Municipio 44 kmToa Baja Municipio 46 kmCataño Municipio 50 kmArecibo Municipio 53 kmToa Alta Municipio 54 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
2:38 pm AST on 21 October 2018 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) north of Vega Baja, PR · earthquakes near Vega Baja
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
70 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Vega Baja Municipio, 41 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2943 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 Vega Baja, 42 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 210 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 72,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 51,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 210 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 in our catalogue was M 4.8 on 2017-08-18 — about 2,300 times the energy of this one.

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 18.8255, -66.3933. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 41 km (26 mi) S earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 41 km (26 mi) SSE earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 43 km (27 mi) SSW earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 44 km (27 mi) SSW earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 44 km (27 mi) S earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 46 km (29 mi) SSE earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 34 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.0 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 71 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 66 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.8 64 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.6 66 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 64 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.5 Puerto Rico region
  9. 2.3 72 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.3 69 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 76 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.8 69 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.8 57 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.7 63 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.6 72 km N of Brenas, 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.