QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Guayama, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Guayama in the 24 hours to 3:33 pm AST (19:33 UTC). The last one was M 3.3, 35 km (22 mi) WSW, at 8:40 am AST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Guayama

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) west-southwest of Guayama, PR, at 2:00 am AST on 13 March 2019 (06:00 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

49 km (31 mi) SSW of San Juan, PR · 32 km (20 mi) SSW of Caguas, PR

2:00 am AST, Mar 13, 2019 · · 14 km deep · released about 8.7 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Guayama Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayama Municipio 3 kmSalinas Municipio 10 kmArroyo Municipio 13 kmCayey Municipio 15 kmPatillas Municipio 19 kmAibonito Municipio 20 kmCidra Municipio 22 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 23 kmCoamo Municipio 25 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
2:00 am AST on 13 March 2019 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) west-southwest of Guayama, PR · earthquakes near Guayama
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guayama Municipio, 3 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2800 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. In Guayama, 6 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: Jobos, Central Aguirre, Coquí, Olimpo, La Plena, Corazón.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.7 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.7 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 4.6 on 2016-12-05 — about 28,000 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 17.9723, -66.1686. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayama Municipio, PR 3 km (2 mi) E earthquakes near Guayama Municipio
Salinas Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) W earthquakes near Salinas Municipio
Arroyo Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) E earthquakes near Arroyo Municipio
Cayey Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) N earthquakes near Cayey Municipio
Patillas Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) E earthquakes near Patillas Municipio
Aibonito Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) NNW earthquakes near Aibonito Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 2 km WSW of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.9 4 km N of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.4 33 km SSE of Arroyo, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.7 7 km SSE of Palo Seco, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 4 km ENE of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 18 km SSW of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.6 7 km SE of Jayuya, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.6 6 km ESE of Jayuya, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.7 2 km S of Capitanejo, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.8 2 km N of Playita Cortada, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.6 0 km N of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.7 2 km SSW of G. L. Garcia, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 3 km SE of Cayey, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.9 Puerto Rico region
  15. 1.9 0 km ENE of Jobos, 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.