QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Lares, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Lares in the 24 hours to 12:59 pm AST (16:59 UTC). The last one was M 3.1, 39 km (24 mi) S, at 3:58 pm AST on 31 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Lares

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) south-southwest of Lares, PR, at 7:04 am AST on 21 April 2024 (11:04 UTC), 21 km deep.

USGS: 6 km SSW of Lares, Puerto Rico

91 km (57 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR · 25 km (15 mi) E of Mayagüez, PR

7:04 am AST, Apr 21, 2024 · · 21 km deep · released about 140 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Lares Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lares Municipio 6 kmLas Marías Municipio 7 kmMaricao Municipio 8 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 12 kmAdjuntas Municipio 17 kmSabana Grande Municipio 18 kmYauco Municipio 18 kmSan Germán Municipio 20 kmUtuado Municipio 22 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
7:04 am AST on 21 April 2024 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) south-southwest of Lares, PR · earthquakes near Lares
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
21 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lares Municipio, 6 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 934 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 5 km (3 mi) from the epicentre. In Lares, 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Juncal, Maricao, San Sebastián, Quebrada, Cayuco, Sabana Grande.

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 3.5 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 75,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 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 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 840,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 39 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 48 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 24 km NW of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 49 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 49 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 18.2410, -66.9097. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lares Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) NE earthquakes near Lares Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 7 km (5 mi) WSW earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) SSW earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
San Sebastián Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Sebastián Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) ESE earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 18 km SSE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 15 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 15 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 6 km ENE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.5 19 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 18 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 3 km ENE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 19 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.7 14 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 2 km NNE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.6 4 km SW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.1 7 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.9 11 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.4 6 km SSE of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 19 km SSW of Guánica, 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.