QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Rafael Capo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Rafael Capo in the 24 hours to 9:54 am AST (13:54 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 50 km (31 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Rafael Capo

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) west of Rafael Capo, PR, at 10:04 pm AST on 14 January 2019 (02:04 UTC), 13 km deep.

USGS: 3 km W of Rafael Capo, Puerto Rico

10 km (6 mi) WSW of Arecibo, PR · 80 km (49 mi) W of San Juan, PR

10:04 pm AST, Jan 14, 2019 · · 13 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Rafael Capo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hatillo Municipio 4 kmCamuy Municipio 6 kmQuebradillas Municipio 13 kmArecibo Municipio 15 kmLares Municipio 16 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 18 kmUtuado Municipio 20 kmIsabela Municipio 22 kmAdjuntas Municipio 26 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
10:04 pm AST on 14 January 2019 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) west of Rafael Capo, PR · earthquakes near Rafael Capo
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hatillo Municipio, 4 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2859 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 1 km (1 mi) from the epicentre. In Rafael Capo, 4 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: Rafael Gonzalez, Quebrada, Corcovado, Piedra Gorda, Hatillo, Carrizales.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 13 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 840,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 75× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 42 km W of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 46 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 46 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 32 km ENE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 27 km W 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 18.4101, -66.8183. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hatillo Municipio, PR 4 km (3 mi) NNE earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) NW earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) WNW earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 15 km (10 mi) E earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Lares Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) SSW earthquakes near Lares Municipio
San Sebastián Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) WSW earthquakes near San Sebastián Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 6 km WSW of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 6 km NE of Villalba, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.5 5 km NE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.8 5 km NNE of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 7 km NE of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 0 km WNW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.6 2 km SE of Lajas, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.6 8 km NNW of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.9 1 km W of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.9 4 km NNE of Sabana Eneas, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 9 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 26 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 1 km NW of Lajas, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.6 15 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.0 2 km WSW 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.