QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Rincón, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Rincón in the 24 hours to 10:12 am AST (14:12 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 53 km (33 mi) NNE, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Rincón

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 22 km (14 mi) west of Rincón, PR, at 8:20 pm AST on 20 February 2019 (00:20 UTC), 9.0 km deep.

USGS: 22 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico

38 km (23 mi) WNW of Mayagüez, PR · 147 km (92 mi) W of San Juan, PR

8:20 pm AST, Feb 20, 2019 · · 9.0 km deep · released about 21 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Rincón Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 22 kmAguada Municipio 29 kmAñasco Municipio 35 kmAguadilla Municipio 36 kmMoca Municipio 40 kmHormigueros Municipio 44 kmIsabela Municipio 49 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 49 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 52 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
8:20 pm AST on 20 February 2019 ()
Where
22 km (14 mi) west of Rincón, PR · earthquakes near Rincón
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
9.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 22 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2820 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Rincón, 22 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: Stella, Aguada, La Playa.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 730,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 520,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 46× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 4.4 on 2017-10-01 — about 5,800 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 48 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 30 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 28 km ENE of this epicentre
  4. 6.3 58 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 45 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 32 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 18.3545, -67.4598. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) E earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) E earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 35 km (22 mi) ESE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 36 km (22 mi) ENE earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 40 km (25 mi) E earthquakes near Moca Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 44 km (27 mi) SE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 1 km SE of Espino, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 27 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 0 km NNE of Monte Grande, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.8 47 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 53 km W of Stella, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 4 km SSW of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.2 12 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.0 52 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 29 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.0 6 km W of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 13 km NNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.8 3 km W of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.2 7 km WSW of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 11 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.4 7 km NNW of Puerto Real, 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.