QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Sabana, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Sabana in the 24 hours to 11:10 pm AST (03:10 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 85 km (53 mi) SW, at 9:19 am AST on 18 September 2026, estimated intensity III (weak) in town; 86 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Sabana

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 13 km (8 mi) north-northwest of Sabana, PR, at 4:12 am AST on 5 June 2021 (08:12 UTC), 72 km deep.

USGS: 12 km NNW of Sabana, Puerto Rico

40 km (25 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 33 km (20 mi) NW of Bayamón, PR

4:12 am AST, Jun 5, 2021 · · 72 km deep · released about 450 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Sabana Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vega Baja Municipio 12 kmVega Alta Municipio 16 kmManatí Municipio 16 kmDorado Municipio 18 kmBarceloneta Municipio 19 kmToa Baja Municipio 26 kmFlorida Municipio 28 kmMorovis Municipio 28 kmToa Alta Municipio 28 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
4:12 am AST on 5 June 2021 ()
Where
13 km (8 mi) north-northwest of Sabana, PR · earthquakes near Sabana
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
72 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Vega Baja Municipio, 12 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1986 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 Sabana, 13 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: Brenas, Vega Baja, Ceiba, Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Monserrate, Coto Norte.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 450 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.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 34,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 24,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.1× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 450 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 4.8 on 2017-08-18 — about 1,100 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 17 km W of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 44 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 10 km SE 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 18.5671, -66.4053. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) S earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) SSE earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) SW earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) SE earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) SW earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) ESE earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.5 1 km E of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.2 6 km WNW of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.5 40 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.6 2 km ESE of Pájaros, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.1 Puerto Rico region
  6. 3.4 50 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 5 km S of Morovis, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.7 0 km NW of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 12 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.3 26 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.9 0 km WNW of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.0 15 km NNE of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.3 7 km N of Camuy, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.1 13 km N of Levittown, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.0 35 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, 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.