QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7md

Earthquake near Morovis, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Morovis in the 24 hours to 7:29 pm AST (23:29 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 71 km (44 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 Morovis

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 2 km (2 mi) east of Morovis, PR, at 1:14 am AST on 9 November 2018 (05:14 UTC), 129 km deep.

USGS: 2 km E of Morovis, Puerto Rico

35 km (22 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR · 24 km (15 mi) WSW of Bayamón, PR

1:14 am AST, Nov 9, 2018 · · 129 km deep · released about 290 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Morovis Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Morovis Municipio 4 kmCorozal Municipio 7 kmOrocovis Municipio 13 kmVega Alta Municipio 13 kmNaranjito Municipio 14 kmCiales Municipio 14 kmVega Baja Municipio 14 kmToa Alta Municipio 15 kmBarranquitas Municipio 16 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
1:14 am AST on 9 November 2018 ()
Where
2 km (2 mi) east of Morovis, PR · earthquakes near Morovis
Magnitude
M 2.7 (md)
Depth
129 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Morovis Municipio, 4 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2925 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 Morovis, 2 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: Franquez, Miranda, Barahona, Corozal, Ciales, Vega Alta.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 290 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 51,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 36,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 290 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 33 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 27 km ESE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 20 km NNE 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 18.3258, -66.3833. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Morovis Municipio, PR 4 km (2 mi) WSW earthquakes near Morovis Municipio
Corozal Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) ESE earthquakes near Corozal Municipio
Orocovis Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) SSW earthquakes near Orocovis Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NNE earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Naranjito Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) ESE earthquakes near Naranjito Municipio
Ciales Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) WSW earthquakes near Ciales 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.

  1. 1.7 5 km E of Comerío, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.7 1 km WNW of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.8 2 km SSE of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.7 Puerto Rico region
  5. 1.9 5 km SSW of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 5 km S of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.5 Puerto Rico region
  8. 2.3 Puerto Rico region
  9. 1.9 2 km N of Carolina, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 21 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.1 4 km ESE of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 Puerto Rico region
  13. 2.0 3 km SSW of Jauca, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.3 2 km SSW of Jauca, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.0 2 km SSW of Jauca, 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.