Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.6md
Earthquake near Benitez, PR
No earthquake was likely felt in Benitez in the 24 hours to 4:24 pm AST (20:24 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 67 km (42 mi) ESE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Benitez
This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Benitez, PR, at 5:03 pm AST on 7 November 2018 (21:03 UTC), 118 km deep.
USGS: 3 km NNW of Benitez, Puerto Rico
22 km (13 mi) ESE of San Juan, PR · 15 km (10 mi) SE of Carolina, PR
- When
- 5:03 pm AST on 7 November 2018 ()
- Where
- 4 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Benitez, PR · earthquakes near Benitez
- Magnitude
- M 2.6 (md)
- Depth
- 118 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Canóvanas Municipio, 3 km N
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2851 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Benitez, PR
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Benitez, PR. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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 Benitez, 4 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: Campo Rico, El Mangó, Canovanas, Bartolo, La Dolores, Celada.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 240 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.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 63,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 45,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.6 about 240 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 4.6 on 2016-12-05 — about 1,000 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 26 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 18.3036, -65.8895. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canóvanas Municipio, PR | 3 km (2 mi) | N | earthquakes near Canóvanas Municipio |
| Juncos Municipio, PR | 9 km (6 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Juncos Municipio |
| Gurabo Municipio, PR | 10 km (6 mi) | WSW | earthquakes near Gurabo Municipio |
| Río Grande Municipio, PR | 13 km (8 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio |
| Trujillo Alto Municipio, PR | 13 km (8 mi) | WNW | earthquakes near Trujillo Alto Municipio |
| Las Piedras Municipio, PR | 13 km (8 mi) | S | earthquakes near Las Piedras Municipio |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
31 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.6 22 km NNE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
- 1.8 2 km ENE of Parcelas Nuevas, Puerto Rico
- 2.5 13 km NW of Loíza, Puerto Rico
- 2.0 8 km NE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
- 1.5 1 km SE of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico
- 2.6 0 km ENE of Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico
- 1.9 3 km W of Campo Rico, Puerto Rico
- 2.8 4 km E of Bayamón, Puerto Rico
- 1.8 1 km NNW of Sumidero, Puerto Rico
- 2.1 11 km N of Loíza, Puerto Rico
- 1.8 1 km NW of H. Rivera Colon, Puerto Rico
- 2.9 2 km ESE of H. Rivera Colon, Puerto Rico
- 1.7 8 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
- 2.6 2 km ENE of Corozal, Puerto Rico
- 2.7 20 km N of Luquillo, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.