QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tierras Nuevas Poniente in the 24 hours to 10:14 am AST (14:14 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 17 km (11 mi) WNW, at 2:05 am AST on 13 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 20 km (12 mi) north of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR, at 2:32 am AST on 6 January 2019 (06:32 UTC), 73 km deep.

USGS: 19 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico

54 km (33 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 31 km (19 mi) NE of Arecibo, PR

2:32 am AST, Jan 6, 2019 · · 73 km deep · released about 7.3 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Barceloneta Municipio 19 kmManatí Municipio 22 kmVega Baja Municipio 24 kmArecibo Municipio 29 kmVega Alta Municipio 29 kmFlorida Municipio 30 kmDorado Municipio 32 kmMorovis Municipio 37 kmHatillo Municipio 37 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
2:32 am AST on 6 January 2019 ()
Where
20 km (12 mi) north of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR · earthquakes near Tierras Nuevas Poniente
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
73 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Barceloneta Municipio, 19 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2866 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 Tierras Nuevas Poniente, 20 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: La Luisa, Barceloneta, Garrochales, Imbery, Manatí, Coto Norte.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.3 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 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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 4.8 on 2017-08-18 — about 65,000 times the energy of this one.

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 · 10 km SW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 64 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 45 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 24 km SE 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 18.6385, -66.5111. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) SSW earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 22 km (13 mi) S earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) SSE earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) SW earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) SE earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) S earthquakes near Florida Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 7 km N of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 31 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 10 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.6 37 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.1 69 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.7 2 km NW of Rafael Gonzalez, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 4 km NW of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.9 24 km NNE of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 8 km NNW of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 9 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.4 26 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.8 8 km SSW of Ciales, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 8 km NW of Camuy, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 14 km NNW of Camuy, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.6 Puerto Rico region

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.