QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Lares, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Lares in the 24 hours to 11:07 pm AST (03:07 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 39 km (24 mi) S, at 3:58 pm AST on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Lares

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 12 km (8 mi) south-southeast of Lares, PR, at 1:27 pm AST on 10 December 2018 (17:27 UTC), 24 km deep.

USGS: 12 km SSE of Lares, Puerto Rico

31 km (19 mi) NW of Ponce, PR

1:27 pm AST, Dec 10, 2018 · · 24 km deep · released about 18 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Lares Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Adjuntas Municipio 8 kmLares Municipio 10 kmMaricao Municipio 10 kmYauco Municipio 12 kmLas Marías Municipio 15 kmSabana Grande Municipio 16 kmUtuado Municipio 17 kmGuayanilla Municipio 21 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 21 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
1:27 pm AST on 10 December 2018 ()
Where
12 km (8 mi) south-southeast of Lares, PR · earthquakes near Lares
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
24 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Adjuntas Municipio, 8 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2893 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 Lares, 12 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Adjuntas, Maricao, Cayuco, Juncal, Santo Domingo, Utuado.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 18 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 840,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 53× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 18 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 lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 49 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 34 km NW 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 18.1890, -66.8380. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) E earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Lares Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lares Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) W earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) S earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 15 km (10 mi) WNW earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) SW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 2 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.9 9 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.8 8 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 2 km SW of Las Ollas, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 9 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 6 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.9 8 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.7 7 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.9 8 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.6 Puerto Rico region
  11. 1.7 6 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.9 8 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.7 7 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.8 2 km NNE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.6 1 km W of Tallaboa, 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.