QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Puerto Real, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Puerto Real in the 24 hours to 12:57 am AST (04:57 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 10 km (6 mi) SE, at 11:57 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Puerto Real

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 20 km (13 mi) west-northwest of Puerto Real, PR, at 10:10 am AST on 8 April 2019 (14:10 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 20 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico

24 km (15 mi) WSW of Mayagüez, PR · 140 km (87 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

10:10 am AST, Apr 8, 2019 · · 15 km deep · released about 430 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 24 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 26 kmHormigueros Municipio 26 kmAñasco Municipio 28 kmAguada Municipio 31 kmSan Germán Municipio 35 kmMoca Municipio 39 kmLajas Municipio 39 kmLas Marías Municipio 41 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
10:10 am AST on 8 April 2019 ()
Where
20 km (13 mi) west-northwest of Puerto Real, PR · earthquakes near Puerto Real
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 24 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2775 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Puerto Real, 20 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.

Likely felt in: Puerto Real 20 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 430 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 35,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 25,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 430 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 4.3 on 2017-10-14 — about 200 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 36 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 46 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 41 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 4 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 2 km NNW 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 18.1530, -67.3610. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) NNE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) SE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) E earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 28 km (18 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) NE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 35 km (21 mi) E earthquakes near San Germán Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 3 km E of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 27 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 7 km SW of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.7 5 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.0 9 km NW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.2 0 km SE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.8 4 km ESE of Espino, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.6 2 km NE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.9 10 km SSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.9 7 km ENE of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 16 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.9 17 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.8 13 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.7 8 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.7 6 km WSW of Pole Ojea, 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.