QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Aguadilla, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Aguadilla in the 24 hours to 8:42 pm AST (00:42 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 4 km (3 mi) SE, at 12:03 am AST on 6 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Aguadilla

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 38 km (23 mi) west of Aguadilla, PR, at 12:54 am AST on 24 November 2018 (04:54 UTC), 17 km deep.

USGS: 31 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico

50 km (31 mi) NW of Mayagüez, PR · 142 km (88 mi) W of Bayamón, PR

12:54 am AST, Nov 24, 2018 · · 17 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Aguadilla Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 32 kmAguada Municipio 36 kmAguadilla Municipio 38 kmAñasco Municipio 45 kmMoca Municipio 47 kmIsabela Municipio 52 kmHormigueros Municipio 57 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 59 kmMayagüez Municipio 60 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
12:54 am AST on 24 November 2018 ()
Where
38 km (23 mi) west of Aguadilla, PR · earthquakes near Aguadilla
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 32 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2910 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. In Aguadilla, 38 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 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 840,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 75× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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 4.4 on 2017-10-01 — about 9,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 41 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 19 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 31 km E of this epicentre
  4. 6.3 58 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 37 km W of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 30 km ENE 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 18.4861, -67.5065. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) ESE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 36 km (22 mi) ESE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 38 km (24 mi) E earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 45 km (28 mi) ESE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 47 km (29 mi) ESE earthquakes near Moca Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 52 km (32 mi) E earthquakes near Isabela Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 30 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.2 2 km NNE of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 30 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 28 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 62 km ESE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  6. 3.0 65 km ESE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  7. 2.4 43 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.5 49 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.0 11 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.7 36 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 13 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 16 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 2 km NW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.2 28 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 48 km NW of San Antonio, 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.