QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Aguadilla, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Aguadilla in the 24 hours to 3:27 pm AST (19:27 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 4 km (3 mi) SE, at 12:03 am AST on 6 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Aguadilla

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 38 km (24 mi) west-northwest of Aguadilla, PR, at 10:31 pm AST on 14 December 2018 (02:31 UTC), 24 km deep.

USGS: 36 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico

55 km (34 mi) NW of Mayagüez, PR · 141 km (87 mi) W of Bayamón, PR

10:31 pm AST, Dec 14, 2018 · · 24 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Aguadilla Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 36 kmAguadilla Municipio 37 kmAguada Municipio 39 kmMoca Municipio 48 kmAñasco Municipio 49 kmIsabela Municipio 50 kmQuebradillas Municipio 60 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 61 kmHormigueros Municipio 63 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
10:31 pm AST on 14 December 2018 ()
Where
38 km (24 mi) west-northwest of Aguadilla, PR · earthquakes near Aguadilla
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
24 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 36 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2889 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 Aguadilla, 38 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 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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 1,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 13 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 34 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 11 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 32 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 6.3 58 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 41 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 26 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 18.5798, -67.4808. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 36 km (22 mi) SE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) ESE earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 39 km (24 mi) SE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 48 km (30 mi) ESE earthquakes near Moca Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 49 km (31 mi) SE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 50 km (31 mi) ESE earthquakes near Isabela 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. 2.3 55 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 64 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.7 63 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 24 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.8 0 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.0 46 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 18 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.9 68 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 41 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 9 km SW of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.4 25 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.8 20 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.7 35 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.6 51 km ESE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  15. 2.1 7 km NNW of Rincón, 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.