QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Puerto Real, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Puerto Real in the 24 hours to 4:46 pm AST (20:46 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 2.4 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) west-northwest of Puerto Real, PR, at 3:53 pm AST on 13 May 2019 (19:53 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 18 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico

21 km (13 mi) WSW of Mayagüez, PR · 137 km (85 mi) W of San Juan, PR

3:53 pm AST, May 13, 2019 · · 16 km deep · released about 130 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Puerto Real Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 22 kmHormigueros Municipio 24 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 25 kmAñasco Municipio 26 kmAguada Municipio 29 kmSan Germán Municipio 32 kmMoca Municipio 36 kmLajas Municipio 38 kmLas Marías Municipio 39 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
3:53 pm AST on 13 May 2019 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) west-northwest of Puerto Real, PR · earthquakes near Puerto Real
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 22 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2739 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 14 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Puerto Real, 19 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: Stella, La Playa, Mayagüez, Rincón, Cabo Rojo, Hormigueros.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 130 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 110,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 80,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 130 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 640 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 · 34 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 45 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 39 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 4 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 4 km WNW 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 18.1630, -67.3371. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 22 km (13 mi) NNE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) E earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) SE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) NE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 32 km (20 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

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

  1. 2.1 8 km NNE of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.7 6 km SSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.4 5 km NE of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.8 7 km NE of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.0 5 km NNE of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.8 12 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.2 5 km NE of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.8 3 km NE of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.7 3 km N of Juncal, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.2 2 km WSW of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 28 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.6 6 km SE of Aceitunas, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 6 km W of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 Mona Passage
  15. 1.9 5 km W of Las Marías, 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.