QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Arecibo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Arecibo in the 24 hours to 8:30 am AST (12:30 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 49 km (31 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Arecibo

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) north-northeast of Arecibo, PR, at 9:56 pm AST on 22 October 2019 (01:56 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 6 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico

10 km (6 mi) NE of Arecibo, PR · 67 km (41 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR

9:56 pm AST, Oct 22, 2019 · · 14 km deep · released about 98 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Arecibo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Arecibo Municipio 10 kmBarceloneta Municipio 15 kmHatillo Municipio 15 kmCamuy Municipio 21 kmFlorida Municipio 22 kmManatí Municipio 22 kmQuebradillas Municipio 27 kmUtuado Municipio 28 kmVega Baja Municipio 31 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
9:56 pm AST on 22 October 2019 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) north-northeast of Arecibo, PR · earthquakes near Arecibo
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Arecibo Municipio, 10 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2576 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Arecibo, 7 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.

Likely felt in: Arecibo 7 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 98 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 150,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 110,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 9.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 98 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 2018-12-09 — about 1,200 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 13 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 43 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 36 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 18.5263, -66.6836. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Arecibo Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) S earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) ESE earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 15 km (10 mi) SW earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) WSW earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 22 km (13 mi) SE earthquakes near Florida Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) ESE earthquakes near Manatí Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 18 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 1 km SW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.0 2 km NNW of Sabana, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.7 3 km N of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.8 7 km NNE of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.4 27 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.6 3 km SE of Jayuya, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.9 45 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.8 Puerto Rico region
  10. 2.4 21 km NNW of Camuy, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 11 km NNW of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.9 23 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.3 35 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 17 km N of Camuy, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.1 7 km ESE of Lares, 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.