Earthquake near Isabela, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Isabela in the 24 hours to 4:24 pm AST (20:24 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 31 km (19 mi) N, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Isabela

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) north of Isabela, PR, at 1:10 am AST on 21 March 2019 (05:10 UTC), 41 km deep.

USGS: 45 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico

58 km (36 mi) NNW of Arecibo, PR · 114 km (71 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR

1:10 am AST, Mar 21, 2019 · 2019-03-21 05:10 UTC · 41 km deep · released about 46 lb of TNT

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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: 1:10 am AST on 21 March 2019 (2019-03-21 05:10 UTC)
Where: 45 km (28 mi) north of Isabela, PR · earthquakes near Isabela
Magnitude: M 2.1 (md)
Depth: 41 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Isabela Municipio, 47 km S
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 2793 days ago · we first saw it 2793 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 Isabela, 45 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 46 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 330,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 230,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 21× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.1 about 46 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 4.7 on 2017-07-17 — about 6,500 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 20 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

7.7 45 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 11 km W of this epicentre Jul 29, 1943
7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 30 km SW of this epicentre Oct 11, 1918
6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 26 km NE of this epicentre Jan 13, 2014
6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 46 km SSW of this epicentre Oct 11, 1918
6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 35 km SSW of this epicentre Nov 12, 1918

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

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Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Isabela Municipio, PR	47 km (29 mi)	S	earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR	49 km (31 mi)	SSW	earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR	50 km (31 mi)	S	earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR	54 km (33 mi)	SSE	earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR	56 km (35 mi)	SSE	earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR	59 km (37 mi)	S	earthquakes near Moca Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

2.7 51 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico 20:19 UTC
2.9 48 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico 19:52 UTC
2.8 62 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico 08:28 UTC
2.3 39 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico 02:41 UTC
2.6 44 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico 03:08 UTC
2.5 57 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico 01:05 UTC
2.6 50 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico 22:38 UTC
3.5 68 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico 19:31 UTC
2.8 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico 12:22 UTC
2.7 47 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico 09:12 UTC
2.7 41 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico 01:32 UTC
2.1 19 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico 07:36 UTC
1.6 42 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico 06:11 UTC
2.2 18 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico 00:47 UTC
2.4 38 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico 09:40 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 20:24 UTC. QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.