QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Capitanejo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Capitanejo in the 24 hours to 5:49 pm AST (21:49 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 35 km (22 mi) WSW, at 3:45 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Capitanejo

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) south-southwest of Capitanejo, PR, at 9:32 am AST on 16 December 2018 (13:32 UTC), 28 km deep.

USGS: 7 km SSW of Capitanejo, Puerto Rico

8 km (5 mi) SE of Ponce, PR

9:32 am AST, Dec 16, 2018 · · 28 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Capitanejo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Ponce Municipio 7 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 9 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 18 kmPeñuelas Municipio 19 kmVillalba Municipio 22 kmGuayanilla Municipio 26 kmCoamo Municipio 27 kmJayuya Municipio 29 kmSalinas Municipio 32 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
9:32 am AST on 16 December 2018 ()
Where
7 km (5 mi) south-southwest of Capitanejo, PR · earthquakes near Capitanejo
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
28 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Ponce Municipio, 7 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2887 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 Capitanejo, 7 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: Potala Pastillo, Aguilita, Ponce, Coto Laurel, Luis Llorens Torres, Juana Díaz.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 970,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 86× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 17.9531, -66.5623. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Ponce Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) NW earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) ENE earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) E earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) WNW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) NNE earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) WNW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 4 km SSE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.8 3 km SSW of Peñuelas, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 3 km ENE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.6 7 km S of Jauca, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.6 7 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.6 4 km ESE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.8 8 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.6 5 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.8 9 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.5 7 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 5 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 8 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 6 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.6 6 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.0 4 km SE 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.