QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near San Juan, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in San Juan in the 24 hours to 10:14 am AST (14:14 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 99 km (62 mi) SE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near San Juan

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 37 km (23 mi) southwest of San Juan, PR, at 7:54 am AST on 2 November 2019 (11:54 UTC), 38 km deep.

USGS: 4 km NNE of Orocovis, Puerto Rico

37 km (23 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR · 26 km (16 mi) WSW of Bayamón, PR

7:54 am AST, Nov 2, 2019 · · 38 km deep · released about 16 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near San Juan Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Morovis Municipio 7 kmCorozal Municipio 7 kmOrocovis Municipio 8 kmBarranquitas Municipio 11 kmNaranjito Municipio 14 kmCiales Municipio 15 kmComerío Municipio 18 kmVillalba Municipio 18 kmToa Alta Municipio 18 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
7:54 am AST on 2 November 2019 ()
Where
37 km (23 mi) southwest of San Juan, PR · earthquakes near San Juan
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
38 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Morovis Municipio, 7 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2566 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 San Juan, 37 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: Morovis, Franquez, Corozal, Barahona, Barranquitas, Ciales.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 16 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 970,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 680,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 61× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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 4.6 on 2019-03-12 — about 15,000 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 · 38 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 26 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 26 km N 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 18.2663, -66.3808. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Morovis Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) NW earthquakes near Morovis Municipio
Corozal Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) NE earthquakes near Corozal Municipio
Orocovis Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) SW earthquakes near Orocovis Municipio
Barranquitas Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) SE earthquakes near Barranquitas Municipio
Naranjito Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) E earthquakes near Naranjito Municipio
Ciales Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ciales Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 6 km SSW of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.7 12 km NNE of Dorado, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 12 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 4 km ENE of Jayuya, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.6 8 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.4 1 km WSW of Coco, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 12 km SW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.8 13 km SSW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 12 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 3 km NNE of La Plena, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.0 2 km NNW of Sabana, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.7 3 km N of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 1 km W of Parcelas Peñuelas, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.2 12 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 14 km NNW of San Juan, 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.