QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

55 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico

Yes. A magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 55 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico, 69 km (43 mi) NNW of San Juan, PR, at 3:19 am AST on 7 July 2019 (07:19 UTC), 28 km deep.

69 km (43 mi) NNW of San Juan, PR

· 28 km deep · released about 74 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dorado Municipio 56 kmVega Baja Municipio 58 kmToa Baja Municipio 59 kmVega Alta Municipio 60 kmBarceloneta Municipio 61 kmManatí Municipio 61 kmCataño Municipio 62 kmSan Juan Municipio 67 kmToa Alta Municipio 68 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
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
28 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Dorado Municipio, 56 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2684 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. 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 74 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 5.8 200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 140,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 13× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 74 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 6,500 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.9 78 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico · 40 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.7 78 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 32 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 64 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 18 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 66 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 12 km NNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 68 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 46 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 18.9720, -66.3286. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dorado Municipio, PR 56 km (35 mi) S earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 58 km (36 mi) S earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 59 km (37 mi) SSE earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 60 km (37 mi) S earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 61 km (38 mi) SSW earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 61 km (38 mi) SSW earthquakes near Manatí 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. 2.4 85 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.8 72 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 78 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 62 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 76 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.7 38 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 61 km N of Loíza, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 51 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 78 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.7 66 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 28 km NNE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 45 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 72 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 22 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.2 67 km NNE of San Juan, 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.