QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7md

Earthquake near Rafael Gonzalez, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Rafael Gonzalez in the 24 hours to 5:19 pm AST (21:19 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 48 km (30 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Rafael Gonzalez

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) northwest of Rafael Gonzalez, PR, at 9:47 pm AST on 4 February 2019 (01:47 UTC), 110 km deep.

USGS: 2 km NW of Rafael Gonzalez, Puerto Rico

7 km (4 mi) W of Arecibo, PR · 78 km (48 mi) W of San Juan, PR

9:47 pm AST, Feb 4, 2019 · · 110 km deep · released about 380 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Rafael Gonzalez Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hatillo Municipio 0 kmCamuy Municipio 7 kmArecibo Municipio 13 kmQuebradillas Municipio 14 kmLares Municipio 20 kmUtuado Municipio 22 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 22 kmIsabela Municipio 23 kmBarceloneta 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
9:47 pm AST on 4 February 2019 ()
Where
2 km (1 mi) northwest of Rafael Gonzalez, PR · earthquakes near Rafael Gonzalez
Magnitude
M 2.7 (md)
Depth
110 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hatillo Municipio, 0 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2837 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 Rafael Gonzalez, 2 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: Corcovado, Carrizales, Rafael Capo, Hatillo, Camuy, Arecibo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 380 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 40,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 29,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 380 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 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 50 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 44 km W of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 47 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 46 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 28 km ENE 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 18.4440, -66.7991. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hatillo Municipio, PR 0 km (0 mi) SSE earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) W earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) E earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) W earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Lares Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) SSW earthquakes near Lares Municipio
Utuado Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) SSE earthquakes near Utuado 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. 2.5 Puerto Rico region
  2. 2.7 0 km NW of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 1 km SE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 0 km WSW of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 8 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 5 km NNE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.9 4 km N of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 1 km NW of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.8 10 km WSW of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.9 4 km S of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 1 km SW of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 3 km WNW of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.8 13 km E of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.4 22 km NNW of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.7 10 km WNW of Adjuntas, 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.