QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Vega Baja, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Vega Baja in the 24 hours to 1:36 pm AST (17:36 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 2.8 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) southwest of Vega Baja, PR, at 11:03 am AST on 24 October 2018 (15:03 UTC), 113 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

36 km (23 mi) W of San Juan, PR · 26 km (16 mi) W of Bayamón, PR

11:03 am AST, Oct 24, 2018 · · 113 km deep · released about 550 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Vega Baja Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vega Baja Municipio 4 kmVega Alta Municipio 8 kmManatí Municipio 9 kmMorovis Municipio 11 kmCorozal Municipio 16 kmDorado Municipio 17 kmBarceloneta Municipio 17 kmFlorida Municipio 17 kmCiales Municipio 18 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
11:03 am AST on 24 October 2018 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) southwest of Vega Baja, PR · earthquakes near Vega Baja
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
113 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Vega Baja Municipio, 4 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2862 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, 3 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Coto Norte, Miranda, Monserrate, Ceiba, Sabana, Vega Alta.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 550 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 28,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 19,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 550 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.

Where

Epicentre 18.4200, -66.4080. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 4 km (3 mi) NNE earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) ENE earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) WNW earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Morovis Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) S earthquakes near Morovis Municipio
Corozal Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) SE earthquakes near Corozal Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) ENE earthquakes near Dorado Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 34 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.5 Puerto Rico region
  3. 2.3 Puerto Rico region
  4. 1.9 2 km N of Carolina, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 21 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 4 km ESE of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 Puerto Rico region
  8. 2.1 1 km SSE of G. L. Garcia, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.6 3 km NNW of Playita Cortada, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 15 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.4 20 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.7 5 km WSW of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 18 km NNW of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.6 9 km W of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.0 35 km NNW 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

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