QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

100 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico

Yes. A magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 100 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico, at 2:53 am AST on 30 October 2019 (06:53 UTC), 34 km deep.

· 34 km deep · released about 720 lb of TNT

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10 km30 km60 km120 km N Isabela Municipio 103 kmQuebradillas Municipio 104 kmCamuy Municipio 106 kmAguadilla Municipio 106 kmHatillo Municipio 107 kmBarceloneta Municipio 108 kmArecibo Municipio 109 kmManatí Municipio 113 kmMoca Municipio 116 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
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
34 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Isabela Municipio, 103 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2570 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. 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 720 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 21,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 15,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.3× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 720 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 4.8 on 2019-09-25 — about 760 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 40 km S of this epicentre
  2. 6.0 93 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 44 km WSW of this epicentre
  3. 6.0 81 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico · 20 km SSW of this epicentre
  4. 5.9 78 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico · 34 km SE of this epicentre
  5. 5.7 78 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 42 km SE 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 19.3976, -66.8718. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Isabela Municipio, PR 103 km (64 mi) S earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 104 km (64 mi) S earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 106 km (66 mi) S earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 106 km (66 mi) SSW earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 107 km (66 mi) S earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 108 km (67 mi) SSE earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 63 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 81 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.7 87 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.8 77 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.2 63 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.9 94 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.1 119 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.5 71 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.0 74 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 79 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 81 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.8 Mona Passage
  13. 2.6 104 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.6 87 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 90 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.