QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near Cayuco, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Cayuco in the 24 hours to 11:30 am AST (15:30 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 41 km (26 mi) SSW, at 3:58 pm AST on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Cayuco

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 7 km (5 mi) west-southwest of Cayuco, PR, at 3:49 pm AST on 7 January 2020 (19:49 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 7 km WSW of Cayuco, Puerto Rico

80 km (50 mi) W of San Juan, PR · 21 km (13 mi) SSW of Arecibo, PR

3:49 pm AST, Jan 7, 2020 · · 10 km deep · released about 16 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Cayuco Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lares Municipio 7 kmUtuado Municipio 11 kmAdjuntas Municipio 12 kmMaricao Municipio 18 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 18 kmHatillo Municipio 19 kmLas Marías Municipio 19 kmCamuy Municipio 20 kmYauco Municipio 22 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
3:49 pm AST on 7 January 2020 ()
Where
7 km (5 mi) west-southwest of Cayuco, PR · earthquakes near Cayuco
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lares Municipio, 7 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2348 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 9 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Cayuco, 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: Lares 8 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

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 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 7,700,000 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 47 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 41 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 31 km WNW 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 18.2741, -66.8071. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lares Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) W earthquakes near Lares Municipio
Utuado Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) E earthquakes near Utuado Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) SSE earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) SW earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
San Sebastián Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Sebastián Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) N earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 4 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.4 4 km SSE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.8 2 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.6 1 km SW of Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.6 0 km NW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 3 km WSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.2 6 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 0 km E of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.0 10 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.8 1 km W of Indios, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.1 1 km NW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 8 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.3 14 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.6 3 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.3 6 km SE of Indios, 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.