Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 1.8md
Earthquake near H. Rivera Colon, PR
No earthquake was likely felt in H. Rivera Colon in the 24 hours to 5:19 pm AST (21:19 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 84 km (52 mi) WSW, at 9:19 am AST on 18 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near H. Rivera Colon
This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded in H. Rivera Colon, PR, at 11:35 am AST on 14 December 2018 (15:35 UTC), 64 km deep.
USGS: 1 km NW of H. Rivera Colon, Puerto Rico
24 km (15 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR · 13 km (8 mi) W of Bayamón, PR
- When
- 11:35 am AST on 14 December 2018 ()
- Where
- in H. Rivera Colon, PR · earthquakes near H. Rivera Colon
- Magnitude
- M 1.8 (md)
- Depth
- 64 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Toa Alta Municipio, 5 km E
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2889 days ago
Earthquake alerts for H. Rivera Colon, PR
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near H. Rivera Colon, PR. No account or email needed.
Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
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. 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: Galateo, Corozal, Río Lajas, Toa Alta, San José, Vega Alta.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 17 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 900,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 640,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 57× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 1.8 about 17 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 2018-12-09 — about 7,200 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 37 km NW of this epicentre
- 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 19 km ESE of this epicentre
- 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 17 km NNW 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 18.3571, -66.2883. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toa Alta Municipio, PR | 5 km (3 mi) | E | earthquakes near Toa Alta Municipio |
| Corozal Municipio, PR | 7 km (4 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Corozal Municipio |
| Naranjito Municipio, PR | 8 km (5 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Naranjito Municipio |
| Vega Alta Municipio, PR | 10 km (6 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio |
| Bayamón Municipio, PR | 13 km (8 mi) | E | earthquakes near Bayamón Municipio |
| Dorado Municipio, PR | 13 km (8 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Dorado Municipio |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
4 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 1.8 1 km NNW of Sumidero, Puerto Rico
- 2.1 11 km N of Loíza, Puerto Rico
- 1.9 2 km SW of Las Ollas, Puerto Rico
- 2.6 14 km N of Brenas, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.