QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Culebra, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Culebra in the last 24 hours. M 2.9, 25 km (15 mi) ENE of Culebra, at 6:51 am AST on 11 November 2026 (10:51 UTC); the estimated shaking in Culebra was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Culebra

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 28 km (17 mi) northwest of Culebra, PR, at 12:29 am AST on 8 October 2019 (04:29 UTC), 95 km deep.

USGS: 28 km NW of Culebra, Puerto Rico

65 km (41 mi) E of San Juan, PR · 56 km (35 mi) E of Carolina, PR

12:29 am AST, Oct 8, 2019 · · 95 km deep · released about 40 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Culebra Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Fajardo Municipio 20 kmCulebra Municipio 26 kmLuquillo Municipio 31 kmCeiba Municipio 33 kmRío Grande Municipio 39 kmVieques Municipio 43 kmNaguabo Municipio 44 kmCanóvanas Municipio 50 kmLoíza Municipio 52 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
12:29 am AST on 8 October 2019 ()
Where
28 km (17 mi) northwest of Culebra, PR · earthquakes near Culebra
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
95 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Fajardo Municipio, 20 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2591 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 Culebra, 28 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: Fajardo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 40 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 380,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 270,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 24× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 40 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 4.2 on 2019-07-28 — about 1,600 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 18.5093, -65.4550. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Fajardo Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) SW earthquakes near Fajardo Municipio
Culebra Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) SE earthquakes near Culebra Municipio
Luquillo Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) WSW earthquakes near Luquillo Municipio
Ceiba Municipio, PR 33 km (21 mi) SSW earthquakes near Ceiba Municipio
Río Grande Municipio, PR 39 km (24 mi) WSW earthquakes near Río Grande Municipio
Vieques Municipio, PR 43 km (27 mi) S earthquakes near Vieques Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 44 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  2. 3.7 14 km N of Isabel Segunda, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.1 3 km NNW of Loíza, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.4 37 km NNW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  5. 3.3 54 km N of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.8 13 km NW of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  7. 3.4 19 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.4 25 km NNE of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.4 48 km NNE of Culebra, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.4 3 km E of Esperanza, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 69 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.6 61 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.9 55 km NNE of Luquillo, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.3 19 km W of Charlotte Amalie, U.S. Virgin Islands
  15. 3.0 57 km N of Culebra, 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.