QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Central Aguirre, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Central Aguirre in the 24 hours to 5:20 pm AST (21:20 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 23 km (14 mi) WSW, at 7:09 pm AST on 5 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Central Aguirre

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) south-southwest of Central Aguirre, PR, at 7:17 am AST on 5 August 2019 (11:17 UTC), 21 km deep.

USGS: 18 km SSW of Central Aguirre, Puerto Rico

71 km (44 mi) SSW of San Juan, PR · 41 km (26 mi) ESE of Ponce, PR

7:17 am AST, Aug 5, 2019 · · 21 km deep · released about 16 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Central Aguirre Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Salinas Municipio 19 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 19 kmGuayama Municipio 25 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 30 kmArroyo Municipio 32 kmCoamo Municipio 34 kmAibonito Municipio 37 kmCayey Municipio 37 kmPatillas 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
7:17 am AST on 5 August 2019 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) south-southwest of Central Aguirre, PR · earthquakes near Central Aguirre
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
21 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Salinas Municipio, 19 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2655 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 Central Aguirre, 18 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: Salinas, Jauca, Coquí, Las Ochenta, Jobos, Santa Isabel.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 16 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 5.8 930,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 660,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 59× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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 2016-12-05 — about 15,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 17.8033, -66.2920. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Salinas Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) N earthquakes near Salinas Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NNW earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Guayama Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) NE earthquakes near Guayama Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) NW earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Arroyo Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) NE earthquakes near Arroyo Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR 34 km (21 mi) NNW earthquakes near Coamo 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. 1.7 13 km SW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.5 10 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 12 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.6 1 km NNE of Parcelas Nuevas, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.6 2 km NNW of Río Cañas Abajo, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.3 2 km W of Bayamon, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.5 7 km SSE of Jauca, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.7 10 km S of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.6 2 km SSE of Río Cañas Abajo, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.0 1 km SE of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.5 8 km S of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 21 km S of Lamboglia, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.5 11 km SSW of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.6 55 km S of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.7 4 km ESE of Ponce, 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.