98 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico

Yes. A magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 98 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico, at 4:45 am AST on 20 December 2019 (08:45 UTC), 28 km deep.

2019-12-20 08:45 UTC · 28 km deep · released about 400 lb of TNT

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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: 2019-12-20 08:45 UTC
Magnitude: M 2.8 (md)
Depth: 28 km below the surface
Felt: no reports yet
Nearest: Aguadilla Municipio, 100 km S
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS 2518 days ago · we first saw it 2518 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 400 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 38,000× the energy of this one
Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 27,000× the energy of this one
Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.4× the energy of this one
This earthquake M 2.8 about 400 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 6.0 on 2019-09-24 — about 75,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

6.0 93 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 15 km WSW of this epicentre Jul 27, 1917
6.0 81 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico · 30 km SE of this epicentre Jul 30, 1943
6.0 67 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 35 km SSW of this epicentre Nov 3, 1988
5.7 88 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 15 km SW of this epicentre Apr 1, 1954
5.6 57 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico · 48 km SSE of this epicentre Apr 13, 1968

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

Map loads when it scrolls into view

Epicentre 19.3831, -67.1573. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

Place	Distance	Direction from the epicentre
Aguadilla Municipio, PR	100 km (62 mi)	S	earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR	101 km (63 mi)	S	earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR	105 km (65 mi)	SSE	earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR	109 km (68 mi)	SSE	earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR	111 km (69 mi)	SSE	earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR	112 km (70 mi)	S	earthquakes near Aguada Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

2.8 95 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico 10:40 UTC
2.9 90 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico 10:31 UTC
3.0 96 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico 10:30 UTC
2.9 85 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico 10:27 UTC
3.0 87 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico 10:26 UTC
2.9 80 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico 10:06 UTC
2.5 96 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico 09:47 UTC
3.4 96 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico 09:12 UTC
2.7 94 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico 06:43 UTC
2.4 60 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico 05:56 UTC
2.8 83 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico 05:39 UTC
2.7 Puerto Rico region 02:44 UTC
2.8 82 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico 01:48 UTC
2.6 Mona Passage 01:13 UTC
2.8 72 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico 01:10 UTC

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of 20:23 UTC. 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.