QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Potala Pastillo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Potala Pastillo in the 24 hours to 7:59 pm AST (23:59 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 6 km (4 mi) NW, at 10:09 am AST on 7 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Potala Pastillo

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 2 km (2 mi) southeast of Potala Pastillo, PR, at 10:58 am AST on 29 May 2019 (14:58 UTC), 17 km deep.

USGS: 2 km ESE of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico

16 km (10 mi) E of Ponce, PR

10:58 am AST, May 29, 2019 · · 17 km deep · released about 13 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Potala Pastillo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Juana Díaz Municipio 3 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 10 kmPonce Municipio 14 kmVillalba Municipio 17 kmCoamo Municipio 19 kmSalinas Municipio 23 kmOrocovis Municipio 27 kmPeñuelas Municipio 27 kmAibonito Municipio 28 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
10:58 am AST on 29 May 2019 ()
Where
2 km (2 mi) southeast of Potala Pastillo, PR · earthquakes near Potala Pastillo
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
17 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Juana Díaz Municipio, 3 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2723 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 Potala Pastillo, 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: Playita Cortada, Río Cañas Abajo, Las Ollas, Capitanejo, Santa Isabel, Aguilita.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 13 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 810,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 72× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 13 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 4.6 on 2019-03-12 — about 18,000 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 48 km NE 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 17.9790, -66.4771. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 3 km (2 mi) NW earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) ESE earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) W earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) N earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NE earthquakes near Coamo Municipio
Salinas Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) E earthquakes near Salinas Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 2 km WSW of Río Cañas Abajo, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.6 2 km SSW of Río Cañas Abajo, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 10 km E of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 1 km WSW of Río Cañas Abajo, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 2 km SW of Río Cañas Abajo, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.5 1 km ENE of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.6 2 km W of Río Cañas Abajo, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.7 2 km WSW of Río Cañas Abajo, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.9 2 km WSW of Río Cañas Abajo, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 11 km S of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 3 km SSE of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.8 7 km SE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 0 km NW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 1 km NW of Jauca, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.7 2 km S of Playita Cortada, 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.