QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Brenas, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Brenas in the 24 hours to 5:49 pm AST (21:49 UTC). The last one was M 4.8, 87 km (54 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 Brenas

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) north-northeast of Brenas, PR, at 2:15 am AST on 19 April 2022 (06:15 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 4 km NNE of Brenas, Puerto Rico

29 km (18 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 21 km (13 mi) NW of Bayamón, PR

2:15 am AST, Apr 19, 2022 · · 15 km deep · released about 18 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Brenas Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dorado Municipio 7 kmVega Alta Municipio 7 kmVega Baja Municipio 10 kmToa Baja Municipio 14 kmToa Alta Municipio 17 kmCataño Municipio 19 kmManatí Municipio 19 kmCorozal Municipio 22 kmMorovis Municipio 23 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
2:15 am AST on 19 April 2022 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) north-northeast of Brenas, PR · earthquakes near Brenas
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Dorado Municipio, 7 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1668 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Brenas, 4 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: Sabana, San Antonio, Ceiba, Dorado, Monserrate, Toa Baja.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 18 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 840,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 53× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 18 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 27,000 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 · 27 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 33 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 2 km W 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 18.5015, -66.3202. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dorado Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) ESE earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 7 km (5 mi) SSW earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) WSW earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) ESE earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio
Toa Alta Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) SSE earthquakes near Toa Alta Municipio
Cataño Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) ESE earthquakes near Cataño Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.3 1 km SE of Toa Baja, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.0 23 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.0 18 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.7 4 km ENE of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 8 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.1 32 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.6 4 km E of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.1 5 km SSE of Pájaros, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 7 km NNW of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.6 3 km NNW of Coamo, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.9 18 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.9 1 km WNW of Río Lajas, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 5 km N of Levittown, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.0 Puerto Rico region
  15. 2.3 Puerto Rico region

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.