QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Santo Domingo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Santo Domingo in the 24 hours to 5:32 pm AST (21:32 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 6 km (4 mi) SW, at 4:39 pm AST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Santo Domingo

This page: a magnitude 1.6 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) west-northwest of Santo Domingo, PR, at 10:41 pm AST on 21 April 2019 (02:41 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 3 km WNW of Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico

19 km (12 mi) WNW of Ponce, PR

10:41 pm AST, Apr 21, 2019 · · 14 km deep · released about 8.4 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Santo Domingo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Peñuelas Municipio 8 kmGuayanilla Municipio 8 kmYauco Municipio 8 kmAdjuntas Municipio 12 kmSabana Grande Municipio 18 kmMaricao Municipio 20 kmPonce Municipio 20 kmGuánica Municipio 21 kmUtuado Municipio 23 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
10:41 pm AST on 21 April 2019 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) west-northwest of Santo Domingo, PR · earthquakes near Santo Domingo
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Peñuelas Municipio, 8 km SE
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 Santo Domingo, 3 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: Guayanilla, Peñuelas, Magas Arriba, Yauco, Tallaboa Alta, Indios.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 8.4 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,800,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 110× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 8.4 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 47 km NW 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 18.0755, -66.7798. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) SE earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) SSW earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) W earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) N earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) W earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) WNW earthquakes near Maricao Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 10 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 5 km ESE of Piedra Gorda, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.8 4 km W of Capitanejo, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 1 km N of Aguilita, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 0 km E of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.5 3 km W of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.7 13 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.6 5 km S of Piedra Gorda, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.8 3 km N of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.7 2 km E of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.5 5 km SE of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.7 8 km W of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.6 7 km NE of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.0 4 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.9 3 km S of Maricao, 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.