QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Animas, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Animas in the 24 hours to 10:46 am AST (14:46 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 11 km (7 mi) N, at 2:05 am AST on 13 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Animas

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 2 km (1 mi) north of Animas, PR, at 2:27 pm AST on 12 April 2019 (18:27 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 2 km N of Animas, Puerto Rico

11 km (7 mi) E of Arecibo, PR · 61 km (38 mi) W of San Juan, PR

2:27 pm AST, Apr 12, 2019 · · 16 km deep · released about 20 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Animas Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Arecibo Municipio 5 kmBarceloneta Municipio 8 kmFlorida Municipio 13 kmManatí Municipio 15 kmHatillo Municipio 17 kmCiales Municipio 23 kmUtuado Municipio 23 kmCamuy Municipio 24 kmVega Baja 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
2:27 pm AST on 12 April 2019 ()
Where
2 km (1 mi) north of Animas, PR · earthquakes near Animas
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Arecibo Municipio, 5 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2770 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 Animas, 2 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: Sabana Hoyos, Bajadero, Garrochales, La Alianza, Bufalo, Arecibo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 20 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 760,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 540,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 48× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 20 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 4.4 on 2018-12-09 — about 6,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 13 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 46 km W of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 31 km E 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 18.4638, -66.6353. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Arecibo Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) SW earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) E earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) SE earthquakes near Florida Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) E earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) W earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Ciales Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) SE earthquakes near Ciales Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 5 km WSW of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.9 8 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.6 30 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.5 4 km WSW of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 7 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.7 5 km NW of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.2 7 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 26 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 2 km ENE of Pájaros, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.8 0 km NNW of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.5 4 km SSE of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.5 5 km NW of Coamo, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 31 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.6 13 km N of Animas, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.9 2 km S of Barahona, 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.