QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

74 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico

Yes. A magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 74 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico, 87 km (54 mi) NNW of San Juan, PR, at 3:59 am AST on 22 October 2018 (07:59 UTC), 36 km deep.

87 km (54 mi) NNW of San Juan, PR

· 36 km deep · released about 30 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dorado Municipio 75 kmVega Baja Municipio 77 kmToa Baja Municipio 78 kmBarceloneta Municipio 78 kmVega Alta Municipio 79 kmManatí Municipio 79 kmCataño Municipio 80 kmSan Juan Municipio 85 kmArecibo Municipio 87 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
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
36 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Dorado Municipio, 75 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2942 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. 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 30 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 32× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 30 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 4.8 on 2017-08-18 — about 16,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 8 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 5.9 78 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico · 33 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.7 78 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 23 km W of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 64 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 19 km SW of this epicentre
  4. 5.4 106 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 32 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 66 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 9 km SSW 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 19.1438, -66.3383. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dorado Municipio, PR 75 km (47 mi) S earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 77 km (48 mi) S earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 78 km (48 mi) SSE earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 78 km (49 mi) SSW earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 79 km (49 mi) S earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 79 km (49 mi) SSW earthquakes near Manatí Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 48 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  2. 4.4 36 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.7 46 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 37 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 84 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.4 42 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.7 34 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.0 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 71 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.9 66 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 64 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.6 66 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 64 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 Puerto Rico region
  15. 2.3 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.