QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tierras Nuevas Poniente in the 24 hours to 8:30 am AST (12:30 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 17 km (11 mi) WNW, at 2:05 am AST on 13 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 50 km (31 mi) north of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR, at 1:09 am AST on 24 March 2019 (05:09 UTC), 93 km deep.

USGS: 49 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico

77 km (48 mi) NW of San Juan, PR · 53 km (33 mi) NNE of Arecibo, PR

1:09 am AST, Mar 24, 2019 · · 93 km deep · released about 1,100 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Barceloneta Municipio 48 kmManatí Municipio 51 kmVega Baja Municipio 53 kmArecibo Municipio 53 kmHatillo Municipio 56 kmVega Alta Municipio 57 kmDorado Municipio 57 kmFlorida Municipio 59 kmCamuy Municipio 59 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
1:09 am AST on 24 March 2019 ()
Where
50 km (31 mi) north of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR · earthquakes near Tierras Nuevas Poniente
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
93 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Barceloneta Municipio, 48 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2789 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Tierras Nuevas Poniente, 50 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 1,100 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 320,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 14,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 10,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,100 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 4.8 on 2017-08-18 — about 450 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. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 30 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 78 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico · 32 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 38 km S of this epicentre
  4. 5.7 78 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 29 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.6 57 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico · 40 km WNW 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 18.9006, -66.5695. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 48 km (30 mi) S earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 51 km (32 mi) S earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 53 km (33 mi) SSE earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 53 km (33 mi) SSW earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 56 km (35 mi) SSW earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 57 km (36 mi) SSE earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 72 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.2 26 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 0 km NNW of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 31 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 59 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.6 13 km N of Animas, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.6 23 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.8 12 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 45 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.8 38 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 15 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.2 Puerto Rico region
  13. 2.6 56 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.2 11 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.4 69 km N of San Juan, 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.