QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Aguada, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Aguada in the 24 hours to 10:47 am AST (14:47 UTC). The last one was M 3.5, 7 km (5 mi) ENE, at 12:03 am AST on 6 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Aguada

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 14 km (9 mi) northwest of Aguada, PR, at 1:39 pm AST on 21 August 2023 (17:39 UTC), 20 km deep.

USGS: 14 km NW of Aguada, Puerto Rico

33 km (21 mi) NNW of Mayagüez, PR · 129 km (80 mi) W of San Juan, PR

1:39 pm AST, Aug 21, 2023 · · 20 km deep · released about 140 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Aguada Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Aguada Municipio 15 kmRincón Municipio 15 kmAguadilla Municipio 15 kmMoca Municipio 24 kmAñasco Municipio 26 kmIsabela Municipio 29 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 37 kmQuebradillas Municipio 38 kmHormigueros Municipio 41 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
1:39 pm AST on 21 August 2023 ()
Where
14 km (9 mi) northwest of Aguada, PR · earthquakes near Aguada
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Aguada Municipio, 15 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1178 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In Aguada, 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: Aguadilla, Rincón, Caban, Stella, Luyando, Moca.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 140 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 110,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 78,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 140 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 870 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 11 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 28 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 19 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 8 km ESE of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 11 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 22 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 18.4682, -67.2870. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Aguada Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) SE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) SSE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) E earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) ESE earthquakes near Moca Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) SE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) E earthquakes near Isabela Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 0 km SW of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 5 km NNW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.1 18 km NNW of Camuy, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.2 21 km N of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.9 26 km NW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 25 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.2 44 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.0 44 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.2 40 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.9 6 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.2 18 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.3 38 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 46 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.7 Mona Passage
  15. 2.6 31 km NW of Aguadilla, 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.