QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Arecibo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Arecibo in the 24 hours to 3:25 pm AST (19:25 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 2.0 earthquake was recorded in Arecibo, PR, at 8:35 am AST on 24 February 2019 (12:35 UTC), 75 km deep.

USGS: 1 km NW of Arecibo, Puerto Rico

in Arecibo, PR · 71 km (44 mi) W of San Juan, PR

8:35 am AST, Feb 24, 2019 · · 75 km deep · released about 31 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Arecibo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Arecibo Municipio 8 kmHatillo Municipio 9 kmCamuy Municipio 15 kmBarceloneta Municipio 18 kmQuebradillas Municipio 21 kmFlorida Municipio 22 kmUtuado Municipio 24 kmManatí Municipio 25 kmLares Municipio 27 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
8:35 am AST on 24 February 2019 ()
Where
in Arecibo, PR · earthquakes near Arecibo
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
75 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Arecibo Municipio, 8 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2817 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. 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, Bajadero, Rafael Gonzalez, Rafael Capo, Hatillo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 31 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 480,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 340,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 31× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 31 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 19 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 37 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 41 km E 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 18.4831, -66.7285. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Arecibo Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) SE earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 9 km (5 mi) WSW earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) WSW earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) E earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) W earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 22 km (13 mi) SE earthquakes near Florida Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 7 km WNW of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.4 3 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 0 km SSW of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 1 km S of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 1 km S of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.5 11 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.1 1 km SE of Espino, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.8 30 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.1 9 km ESE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 5 km NNE of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.2 Puerto Rico region
  12. 2.1 6 km NW of Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.7 3 km S of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.2 7 km WSW of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 2 km S of Las Marías, 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.