QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Jayuya, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Jayuya in the 24 hours to 12:20 am AST (04:20 UTC). The last one was M 3.3, 43 km (27 mi) SSE, at 8:40 am AST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Jayuya

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) west of Jayuya, PR, at 10:57 pm AST on 5 January 2019 (02:57 UTC), 26 km deep.

USGS: 5 km W of Jayuya, Puerto Rico

24 km (15 mi) N of Ponce, PR

10:57 pm AST, Jan 5, 2019 · · 26 km deep · released about 7.8 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Jayuya Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Jayuya Municipio 6 kmUtuado Municipio 8 kmAdjuntas Municipio 12 kmCiales Municipio 17 kmFlorida Municipio 19 kmVillalba Municipio 21 kmOrocovis Municipio 22 kmPeñuelas Municipio 23 kmPonce Municipio 24 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
10:57 pm AST on 5 January 2019 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) west of Jayuya, PR · earthquakes near Jayuya
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
26 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Jayuya Municipio, 6 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2867 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 Jayuya, 6 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: Utuado, Adjuntas, Cayuco, Florida, Estancias de Florida, Tallaboa Alta.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.8 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,400,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 120× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.8 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 39 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 49 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 45 km NE 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 18.2168, -66.6481. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Jayuya Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) E earthquakes near Jayuya Municipio
Utuado Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) NW earthquakes near Utuado Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) WSW earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Ciales Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) ENE earthquakes near Ciales Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NNE earthquakes near Florida Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) ESE earthquakes near Villalba Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 3 km ESE of Espino, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 6 km SW of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 7 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.6 8 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 1 km SW of San Germán, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.6 10 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.9 8 km NNE of Animas, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.5 12 km E of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.1 7 km NNE of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.0 6 km NW of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 18 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.7 2 km SW of H. Rivera Colon, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.5 7 km ESE of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.5 1 km NE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.6 7 km SSW of Estancias de Florida, 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.