QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Dorado, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Dorado in the 24 hours to 12:53 pm AST (16:53 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 92 km (57 mi) SW, at 9:19 am AST on 18 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Dorado

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) north-northeast of Dorado, PR, at 6:42 am AST on 21 April 2019 (10:42 UTC), 98 km deep.

USGS: 5 km NNE of Dorado, Puerto Rico

22 km (14 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 16 km (10 mi) NNW of Bayamón, PR

6:42 am AST, Apr 21, 2019 · · 98 km deep · released about 49 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Dorado Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dorado Municipio 4 kmToa Baja Municipio 7 kmCataño Municipio 12 kmVega Alta Municipio 12 kmToa Alta Municipio 16 kmVega Baja Municipio 17 kmBayamón Municipio 19 kmSan Juan Municipio 20 kmGuaynabo Municipio 22 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
6:42 am AST on 21 April 2019 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) north-northeast of Dorado, PR · earthquakes near Dorado
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
98 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Dorado Municipio, 4 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2761 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 Dorado, 6 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Toa Baja, Ingenio, San Antonio, Levittown, Campanilla, Candelaria Arenas.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 49 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 310,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 220,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 19× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 49 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 9,800 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 · 35 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 29 km SSE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 10 km W 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 18.5045, -66.2430. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dorado Municipio, PR 4 km (2 mi) SSW earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 7 km (5 mi) SE earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio
Cataño Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) SE earthquakes near Cataño Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) SW earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Toa Alta Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) S earthquakes near Toa Alta Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) WSW earthquakes near Vega Baja 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. 1.7 5 km E of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.4 47 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 49 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 6 km NW of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.7 5 km NNW of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.6 3 km WSW of Ciales, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 0 km E of Río Lajas, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.8 6 km ESE of Jayuya, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.9 6 km NW of Villalba, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 39 km N of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 44 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 27 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.8 12 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.9 9 km ENE of Jayuya, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.7 2 km NNE of Levittown, 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.