Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.5md
Earthquake near Bairoa, PR
No earthquake was likely felt in Bairoa in the 24 hours to 12:12 pm AST (16:12 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 82 km (51 mi) ESE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Bairoa
This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded in Bairoa, PR, at 2:51 am AST on 12 December 2019 (06:51 UTC), 14 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 1 km SW of Bairoa, Puerto Rico
in Caguas, PR
- When
- 2:51 am AST on 12 December 2019 ()
- Where
- in Bairoa, PR · earthquakes near Bairoa
- Magnitude
- M 2.5 (md)
- Depth
- 14 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Caguas Municipio, 4 km S
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2526 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Bairoa, PR
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Caguas in town, intensity II · Sumidero 9 km, intensity II · Jagual 11 km, intensity II · Trujillo Alto 12 km, intensity II · Guaynabo 14 km, intensity II · Carolina 17 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 180 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 83,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 59,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 5.2× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.5 about 180 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 2016-12-05 — about 1,300 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 9 km W of this epicentre
- 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 42 km NW 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 18.2501, -66.0490. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caguas Municipio, PR | 4 km (3 mi) | S | earthquakes near Caguas Municipio |
| Gurabo Municipio, PR | 8 km (5 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Gurabo Municipio |
| Aguas Buenas Municipio, PR | 8 km (5 mi) | W | earthquakes near Aguas Buenas Municipio |
| Trujillo Alto Municipio, PR | 11 km (7 mi) | NNE | earthquakes near Trujillo Alto Municipio |
| Guaynabo Municipio, PR | 13 km (8 mi) | NNW | earthquakes near Guaynabo Municipio |
| San Lorenzo Municipio, PR | 14 km (9 mi) | SE | earthquakes near San Lorenzo Municipio |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
3 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
- 2.3 1 km NW of Jauca, Puerto Rico
- 1.9 1 km SSE of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
- 2.3 2 km SW of Vázquez, 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
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.