QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Isabela, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Isabela in the 24 hours to 4:23 pm AST (20:23 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 31 km (19 mi) N, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Isabela

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) north-northeast of Isabela, PR, at 2:15 pm AST on 27 November 2018 (18:15 UTC), 89 km deep.

USGS: 7 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico

99 km (62 mi) W of San Juan, PR · 29 km (18 mi) WNW of Arecibo, PR

2:15 pm AST, Nov 27, 2018 · · 89 km deep · released about 160 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Isabela Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Isabela Municipio 9 kmQuebradillas Municipio 12 kmAguadilla Municipio 18 kmCamuy Municipio 19 kmMoca Municipio 22 kmHatillo Municipio 24 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 26 kmAguada Municipio 29 kmAñasco Municipio 34 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
2:15 pm AST on 27 November 2018 ()
Where
7 km (5 mi) north-northeast of Isabela, PR · earthquakes near Isabela
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
89 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Isabela Municipio, 9 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2906 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 Isabela, 7 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: Quebradillas, Mora, Rafael Hernandez, Cacao, Aceitunas, Camuy.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 160 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 95,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 68,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 160 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 4.3 on 2017-10-14 — about 540 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. 7.7 45 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 41 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 26 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 42 km W of this epicentre
  4. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 27 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 25 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 18.5596, -66.9916. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Isabela Municipio, PR 9 km (5 mi) SSW earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) SSE earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) WSW earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) SE earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) SSW earthquakes near Moca Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) ESE earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 3 km WSW of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 5 km W of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 2 km NNE of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.6 30 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 28 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 26 km NNW of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.9 40 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 37 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 49 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 40 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 7 km WSW of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.6 48 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.6 42 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.6 43 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.6 45 km N of Carrizales, 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.