QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Brenas, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Brenas in the 24 hours to 9:04 am AST (13:04 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 87 km (54 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 Brenas

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) north of Brenas, PR, at 11:27 pm AST on 11 May 2019 (03:27 UTC), 77 km deep.

USGS: 4 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico

32 km (20 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 24 km (15 mi) NW of Bayamón, PR

11:27 pm AST, May 11, 2019 · · 77 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Brenas Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vega Alta Municipio 8 kmVega Baja Municipio 8 kmDorado Municipio 9 kmToa Baja Municipio 17 kmManatí Municipio 17 kmToa Alta Municipio 19 kmCataño Municipio 22 kmMorovis Municipio 23 kmCorozal 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
11:27 pm AST on 11 May 2019 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) north of Brenas, PR · earthquakes near Brenas
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
77 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Vega Alta Municipio, 8 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2740 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 Brenas, 5 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: Sabana, Ceiba, San Antonio, Monserrate, Vega Baja, Dorado.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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 5,600 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 · 24 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 35 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 1 km SSE 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 18.5086, -66.3445. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) S earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) SW earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) ESE earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) ESE earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) WSW earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Toa Alta Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) SSE earthquakes near Toa Alta Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 9 km NNW of Levittown, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 19 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 10 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 Puerto Rico region
  5. 1.8 7 km NNW of Villalba, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 2 km ENE of Celada, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.9 16 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 17 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.6 11 km NNE of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.8 11 km NNW of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 46 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 10 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.3 25 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.0 19 km NNE of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.6 13 km NNW of Garrochales, 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.