QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Stella, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Stella in the 24 hours to 7:34 pm AST (23:34 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 55 km (34 mi) NNE, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Stella

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 50 km (31 mi) west-southwest of Stella, PR, at 5:57 pm AST on 8 December 2018 (21:57 UTC), 40 km deep.

USGS: 49 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico

57 km (35 mi) W of Mayagüez, PR · 113 km (70 mi) W of Ponce, PR

5:57 pm AST, Dec 8, 2018 · · 40 km deep · released about 160 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Stella Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mayagüez Municipio 23 kmRincón Municipio 50 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 55 kmAguada Municipio 58 kmHormigueros Municipio 59 kmAñasco Municipio 60 kmSan Germán Municipio 68 kmAguadilla Municipio 68 kmMoca Municipio 68 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
5:57 pm AST on 8 December 2018 ()
Where
50 km (31 mi) west-southwest of Stella, PR · earthquakes near Stella
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
40 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mayagüez Municipio, 23 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2827 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 Stella, 50 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 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 92,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 65,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.8× 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 4.4 on 2017-10-01 — about 730 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 6.3 58 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 44 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 33 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 33 km E 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 18.1415, -67.6775. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 50 km (31 mi) ENE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 55 km (34 mi) ESE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 58 km (36 mi) ENE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 59 km (37 mi) E earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 60 km (37 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 72 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 69 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.0 59 km ESE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  4. 2.8 59 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.1 67 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  6. 2.8 66 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  7. 2.8 0 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 18 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.4 9 km SW of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 25 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 20 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 11 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 63 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  14. 2.6 51 km ESE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  15. 2.0 9 km NW 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.