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 10:45 am AST (14:45 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 7 km (4 mi) west of Rincón, PR, at 1:43 am AST on 27 September 2023 (05:43 UTC), 18 km deep.

USGS: 6 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico

23 km (15 mi) NW of Mayagüez, PR · 132 km (82 mi) W of San Juan, PR

1:43 am AST, Sep 27, 2023 · · 18 km deep · released about 750 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Rincón Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 6 kmAguada Municipio 14 kmAñasco Municipio 20 kmAguadilla Municipio 24 kmMoca Municipio 25 kmHormigueros Municipio 31 kmIsabela Municipio 35 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 36 kmLas Marías Municipio 37 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
1:43 am AST on 27 September 2023 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) west of Rincón, PR · earthquakes near Rincón
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 6 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1141 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 28 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Rincón, 7 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.

Likely felt in: Rincón 7 km, intensity II · Aguada 14 km, intensity II · Aguadilla 19 km, intensity II · Mayagüez 24 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 750 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 20,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 14,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.3× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 750 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 10 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 42 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 32 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 15 km NE of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 25 km NNE of this epicentre
  5. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 36 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 18.3372, -67.3118. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) E earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) ENE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) ESE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) NE earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) E earthquakes near Moca Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 31 km (19 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. 2.8 25 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.2 44 km NW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.2 40 km NW of San Antonio, 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.