Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 4.0md
Earthquake near Rincón, PR
No earthquake was likely felt in Rincón in the 24 hours to 8:30 am AST (12:30 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 53 km (33 mi) NNE, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Rincón
This page: a magnitude 4.0 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) west-northwest of Rincón, PR, at 7:01 pm AST on 5 April 2020 (23:01 UTC), 123 km deep. 18 people have reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 13 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
31 km (19 mi) NW of Mayagüez, PR · 139 km (86 mi) W of San Juan, PR
- When
- 7:01 pm AST on 5 April 2020 ()
- Where
- 14 km (9 mi) west-northwest of Rincón, PR · earthquakes near Rincón
- Magnitude
- M 4.0 (md)
- Depth
- 123 km below the surface
- Felt
- 18 reports · strongest reported intensity IV
- Measured shaking
- intensity III (ShakeMap)
- USGS impact alert
- green
- Nearest
- Rincón Municipio, 14 km ESE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2335 days ago
Earthquake alerts for Rincón, PR
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Rincón, PR. No account or email needed.
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 light earthquake. It is usually felt clearly nearby and can rattle windows and dishes, but damage is uncommon.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Rincón, 14 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.
Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Stella, Aguada, La Playa, Luyando, Aguadilla, Las Marias.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 18 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 5.0 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 9,400× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 420× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 300× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 4.0 about 18 tons of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 38× more
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 4.4 on 2017-10-01 — about 3.3 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:
- 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 42 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 28 km N of this epicentre
- 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 19 km ENE of this epicentre
- 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 26 km NE of this epicentre
- 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 37 km NE 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 18.3646, -67.3778. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rincón Municipio, PR | 14 km (9 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Rincón Municipio |
| Aguada Municipio, PR | 20 km (13 mi) | E | earthquakes near Aguada Municipio |
| Añasco Municipio, PR | 27 km (17 mi) | ESE | earthquakes near Añasco Municipio |
| Aguadilla Municipio, PR | 28 km (17 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio |
| Moca Municipio, PR | 32 km (20 mi) | E | earthquakes near Moca Municipio |
| Hormigueros Municipio, PR | 38 km (23 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
No further earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
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.