QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near El Negro, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in El Negro in the last 24 hours. M 2.9, 24 km (15 mi) SSE of El Negro, at 5:20 pm AST on 11 November 2026 (21:20 UTC); the estimated shaking in El Negro was intensity II (weak). 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS. Every earthquake near El Negro

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) east-southeast of El Negro, PR, at 3:18 pm AST on 22 March 2019 (19:18 UTC), 3.0 km deep.

USGS: 23 km ESE of El Negro, Puerto Rico

65 km (41 mi) SE of San Juan, PR · 51 km (32 mi) SE of Caguas, PR

3:18 pm AST, Mar 22, 2019 · · 3.0 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near El Negro Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Humacao Municipio 24 kmYabucoa Municipio 25 kmMaunabo Municipio 27 kmVieques Municipio 28 kmNaguabo Municipio 28 kmCeiba Municipio 31 kmLas Piedras Municipio 34 kmPatillas Municipio 36 kmJuncos Municipio 40 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
3:18 pm AST on 22 March 2019 ()
Where
23 km (14 mi) east-southeast of El Negro, PR · earthquakes near El Negro
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
3.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Humacao Municipio, 24 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2715 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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In El Negro, 23 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: Esperanza, Punta Santiago, Comunas, Candelero Arriba, Bajandas, Emajagua.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 4.6 on 2016-12-05 — about 2,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 17.9718, -65.6450. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Humacao Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) NW earthquakes near Humacao Municipio
Yabucoa Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) WNW earthquakes near Yabucoa Municipio
Maunabo Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) W earthquakes near Maunabo Municipio
Vieques Municipio, PR 28 km (18 mi) NE earthquakes near Vieques Municipio
Naguabo Municipio, PR 28 km (18 mi) NNW earthquakes near Naguabo Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 31 km (20 mi) N earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 24 km S of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 29 km ESE of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 11 km SSW of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 12 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 44 km S of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.6 12 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 23 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 5 km ESE of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 12 km SSE of Punta Santiago, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.6 11 km WNW of Isabel Segunda, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 5 km SSE of Arroyo, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.5 2 km NNE of San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.0 30 km SE of El Negro, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.2 16 km S of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.1 6 km SSE of Arroyo, 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.