QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Earthquake near Hatillo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Hatillo in the 24 hours to 5:29 pm AST (21:29 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 40 km (25 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Hatillo

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 18 km (11 mi) north of Hatillo, PR, at 10:59 am AST on 20 September 2019 (14:59 UTC), 84 km deep.

USGS: 17 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico

87 km (54 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 24 km (15 mi) NNW of Arecibo, PR

10:59 am AST, Sep 20, 2019 · · 84 km deep · released about 210 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Quebradillas Municipio 21 kmCamuy Municipio 22 kmHatillo Municipio 23 kmIsabela Municipio 25 kmArecibo Municipio 30 kmAguadilla Municipio 36 kmBarceloneta Municipio 36 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 37 kmMoca Municipio 38 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
10:59 am AST on 20 September 2019 ()
Where
18 km (11 mi) north of Hatillo, PR · earthquakes near Hatillo
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
84 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Quebradillas Municipio, 21 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2609 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Hatillo, 18 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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: Camuy, Carrizales, Quebradillas, Corcovado, Arecibo, Piedra Gorda.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 210 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 72,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 51,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 210 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 4.0 on 2017-03-24 — about 140 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 12 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.7 45 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 41 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 36 km W of this epicentre
  3. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 45 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 45 km WSW of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 42 km WSW 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 18.6443, -66.8490. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) SSW earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) S earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) SSE earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) SW earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 30 km (18 mi) SE earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 36 km (22 mi) WSW earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.7 58 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 9 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 55 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 55 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 58 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.5 56 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 51 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.7 49 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 Puerto Rico region
  10. 2.9 56 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 Puerto Rico region
  12. 3.0 55 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 49 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.4 58 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.4 45 km N of Isabela, 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.