QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Earthquake near Arecibo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Arecibo in the 24 hours to 4:09 pm AST (20:09 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 49 km (31 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Arecibo

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 21 km (13 mi) northwest of Arecibo, PR, at 5:16 am AST on 26 January 2019 (09:16 UTC), 122 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

85 km (53 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 22 km (14 mi) NNW of Arecibo, PR

5:16 am AST, Jan 26, 2019 · · 122 km deep · released about 270 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Arecibo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Camuy Municipio 21 kmQuebradillas Municipio 21 kmHatillo Municipio 21 kmIsabela Municipio 26 kmArecibo Municipio 27 kmBarceloneta Municipio 34 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 37 kmAguadilla Municipio 37 kmMoca Municipio 39 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
5:16 am AST on 26 January 2019 ()
Where
21 km (13 mi) northwest of Arecibo, PR · earthquakes near Arecibo
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
122 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Camuy Municipio, 21 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2846 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Arecibo, 21 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: Hatillo, Camuy, Carrizales, Corcovado, Quebradillas, Piedra Gorda.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 270 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 57,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 40,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 270 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 in our catalogue was M 4.0 on 2017-03-24 — about 110 times the energy of this one.

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 18.6318, -66.8285. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Camuy Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) S earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) SSW earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) S earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) SW earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) SE earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 34 km (21 mi) ESE earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 Puerto Rico region
  2. 2.1 8 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 1 km NW of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.6 59 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 22 km NNW of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 24 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 36 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.0 54 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 2 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.2 3 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.7 2 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 2 km NNE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 3 km NNE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.8 1 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.4 7 km NNE of Hatillo, 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.