QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7md

Earthquake near Luquillo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Luquillo in the 24 hours to 5:54 pm AST (21:54 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 61 km (38 mi) SE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Luquillo

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) north of Luquillo, PR, at 9:54 pm AST on 5 December 2018 (01:54 UTC), 91 km deep.

USGS: 20 km N of Luquillo, Puerto Rico

44 km (27 mi) ENE of San Juan, PR · 35 km (22 mi) ENE of Carolina, PR

9:54 pm AST, Dec 5, 2018 · · 91 km deep · released about 390 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Luquillo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Luquillo Municipio 21 kmFajardo Municipio 21 kmRío Grande Municipio 23 kmLoíza Municipio 30 kmCanóvanas Municipio 33 kmCeiba Municipio 34 kmCarolina Municipio 35 kmNaguabo Municipio 39 kmTrujillo Alto Municipio 42 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
9:54 pm AST on 5 December 2018 ()
Where
21 km (13 mi) north of Luquillo, PR · earthquakes near Luquillo
Magnitude
M 2.7 (md)
Depth
91 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Luquillo Municipio, 21 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2898 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 Luquillo, 21 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: Playa Fortuna, Vieques, Palmer, Suárez, Hato Candal, Ramos.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 390 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 39,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 28,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 390 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 18.5540, -65.6796. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Luquillo Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) S earthquakes near Luquillo Municipio
Fajardo Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) SSE earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Río Grande Municipio, PR 23 km (15 mi) SSW earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio
Loíza Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) WSW earthquakes near Loíza Municipio
Canóvanas Municipio, PR 33 km (21 mi) SW earthquakes near Canóvanas Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 34 km (21 mi) S earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.1 59 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.0 36 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.9 29 km NE of Fajardo, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 Puerto Rico region
  5. 2.5 31 km NNE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 3 km ENE of Bairoa, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 52 km N of Loíza, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 20 km NE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 23 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.1 37 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 6 km ESE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.0 23 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.6 24 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.0 2 km ENE of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.2 58 km NNE of Vieques, 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.