QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Rincón, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Rincón in the 24 hours to 11:28 am AST (15:28 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 2.9 earthquake was recorded 15 km (10 mi) west of Rincón, PR, at 2:14 pm AST on 20 November 2020 (18:14 UTC), 80 km deep.

USGS: 15 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico

30 km (19 mi) WNW of Mayagüez, PR · 141 km (87 mi) W of San Juan, PR

2:14 pm AST, Nov 20, 2020 · · 80 km deep · released about 700 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Rincón Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 15 kmAguada Municipio 23 kmAñasco Municipio 28 kmAguadilla Municipio 32 kmMoca Municipio 34 kmHormigueros Municipio 36 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 43 kmIsabela Municipio 44 kmSan Germán Municipio 45 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
2:14 pm AST on 20 November 2020 ()
Where
15 km (10 mi) west of Rincón, PR · earthquakes near Rincón
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
80 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 15 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2107 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. In Rincón, 15 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, La Playa, Aguada, Luyando, Las Marias, Añasco.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 700 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 15,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 700 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 4.4 on 2017-10-01 — about 170 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 47 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 33 km N of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 23 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 31 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 42 km NNE 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 18.3220, -67.3935. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) E earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) ENE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 28 km (17 mi) E earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) NE earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 34 km (21 mi) E earthquakes near Moca Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 36 km (22 mi) SE earthquakes near Hormigueros 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.

  1. 2.1 5 km ESE of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.9 3 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.3 55 km WSW of Stella, 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.