QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near San Juan, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in San Juan in the 24 hours to 3:33 pm AST (19:33 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 99 km (62 mi) SE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near San Juan

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 42 km (26 mi) east-northeast of San Juan, PR, at 1:16 am AST on 17 August 2019 (05:16 UTC), 9.0 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

41 km (26 mi) NE of San Juan, PR · 34 km (21 mi) NE of Carolina, PR

1:16 am AST, Aug 17, 2019 · · 9.0 km deep · released about 430 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near San Juan Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Loíza Municipio 29 kmRío Grande Municipio 29 kmLuquillo Municipio 30 kmFajardo Municipio 33 kmCarolina Municipio 35 kmCanóvanas Municipio 37 kmSan Juan Municipio 41 kmTrujillo Alto Municipio 42 kmCeiba Municipio 45 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
1:16 am AST on 17 August 2019 ()
Where
42 km (26 mi) east-northeast of San Juan, PR · earthquakes near San Juan
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
9.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Loíza Municipio, 29 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2566 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 24 km (15 mi) from the epicentre. In San Juan, 42 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: Vieques, Suárez, Loíza, Playa Fortuna, Hato Candal, Luquillo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 430 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 35,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 25,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 430 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.

Where

Epicentre 18.6340, -65.7536. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Loíza Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) SW earthquakes near Loíza Municipio
Río Grande Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) S earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio
Luquillo Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) S earthquakes near Luquillo Municipio
Fajardo Municipio, PR 33 km (20 mi) SSE earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Carolina Municipio, PR 35 km (22 mi) SW earthquakes near Carolina Municipio
Canóvanas Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) SSW earthquakes near Canóvanas Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 61 km N of Suárez, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.2 8 km N of Levittown, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 16 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 2 km NE of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.8 62 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.8 25 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.1 28 km NW of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.1 41 km NNE of Vieques, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.7 15 km E of Luis M. Cintron, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.7 7 km NE of Luis M. Cintron, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 38 km NNW of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 31 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.0 58 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 16 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.2 69 km NNE of Luquillo, 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

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