QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7md

Earthquake near Mayagüez, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Mayagüez in the 24 hours to 8:40 pm AST (00:40 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 25 km (15 mi) SSE, at 3:17 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Mayagüez

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) west-southwest of Mayagüez, PR, at 1:08 pm AST on 7 December 2018 (17:08 UTC), 18 km deep.

USGS: 36 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico

97 km (60 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 42 km (26 mi) WSW of Mayagüez, PR

1:08 pm AST, Dec 7, 2018 · · 18 km deep · released about 310 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Mayagüez Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mayagüez Municipio 38 kmRincón Municipio 38 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 39 kmHormigueros Municipio 44 kmAñasco Municipio 46 kmAguada Municipio 46 kmSan Germán Municipio 52 kmLajas Municipio 54 kmMoca Municipio 56 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
1:08 pm AST on 7 December 2018 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) west-southwest of Mayagüez, PR · earthquakes near Mayagüez
Magnitude
M 2.7 (md)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mayagüez Municipio, 38 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2896 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Mayagüez, 42 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). 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 310 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 50,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 35,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.1× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 310 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 390 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 49 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 19 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 18 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 18.1190, -67.5311. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 38 km (23 mi) W earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 38 km (24 mi) NE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 39 km (24 mi) ESE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 44 km (27 mi) E earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 46 km (29 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 46 km (29 mi) NE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 9 km NW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 7 km NNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.6 16 km WSW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 22 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 5 km ENE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 47 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.9 0 km NNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 8 km WSW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 25 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 7 km NNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.8 13 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 28 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 5 km WSW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.3 4 km ESE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.4 25 km W of Puerto Real, 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.