QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Puerto Real, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Puerto Real in the 24 hours to 6:04 pm AST (22:04 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 2.9 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) west-northwest of Puerto Real, PR, at 5:45 am AST on 31 August 2019 (09:45 UTC), 5.0 km deep.

USGS: 44 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico

53 km (33 mi) W of Mayagüez, PR · 109 km (68 mi) W of Ponce, PR

5:45 am AST, Aug 31, 2019 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 570 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Puerto Real Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mayagüez Municipio 28 kmRincón Municipio 45 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 52 kmAguada Municipio 53 kmAñasco Municipio 55 kmHormigueros Municipio 55 kmAguadilla Municipio 63 kmMoca Municipio 63 kmSan Germán Municipio 64 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
5:45 am AST on 31 August 2019 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) west-northwest of Puerto Real, PR · earthquakes near Puerto Real
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mayagüez Municipio, 28 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2553 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 29 km (18 mi) from the epicentre. In Puerto Real, 49 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 570 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 27,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 19,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 570 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 4.4 on 2017-10-01 — about 210 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 58 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 43 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 28 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 28 km E 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 18.1711, -67.6385. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 28 km (17 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 45 km (28 mi) ENE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 52 km (32 mi) ESE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 53 km (33 mi) ENE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 55 km (34 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 55 km (34 mi) E earthquakes near Hormigueros 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. 2.9 55 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  2. 2.1 20 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.9 Mona Passage
  4. 2.6 27 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.6 10 km NW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 7 km WNW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.8 56 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  8. 2.3 33 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.1 11 km NW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 16 km SSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 26 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 14 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 24 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.6 5 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.2 17 km WNW of Puerto Real, 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.