QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Earthquake near Capitanejo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Capitanejo in the 24 hours to 9:06 pm AST (01:06 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 35 km (22 mi) WSW, at 3:45 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Capitanejo

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) south-southwest of Capitanejo, PR, at 3:51 am AST on 1 August 2024 (07:51 UTC), 8.5 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3 km SSW of Capitanejo, Puerto Rico

8 km (5 mi) E of Ponce, PR

3:51 am AST, Aug 1, 2024 · · 8.5 km deep · released about 250 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Capitanejo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Juana Díaz Municipio 6 kmPonce Municipio 6 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 17 kmVillalba Municipio 18 kmPeñuelas Municipio 20 kmCoamo Municipio 24 kmJayuya Municipio 25 kmGuayanilla Municipio 27 kmOrocovis 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
3:51 am AST on 1 August 2024 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) south-southwest of Capitanejo, PR · earthquakes near Capitanejo
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
8.5 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Juana Díaz Municipio, 6 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 833 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 22 km (14 mi) from the epicentre. In Capitanejo, 3 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Ponce 8 km, intensity III · Río Cañas Abajo 10 km, intensity II · Santa Isabel 15 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 18 km, intensity II · Tallaboa 18 km, intensity II · Coamo 22 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 250 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 61,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 43,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.8× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 250 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 480,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 17.9887, -66.5470. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) E earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Ponce Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) WNW earthquakes near Ponce Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) ESE earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) NNE earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) WNW earthquakes near Peñuelas Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) ENE earthquakes near Coamo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 1 km SW of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 4 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.4 6 km SE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 6 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.2 4 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.5 5 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 4 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.8 3 km WSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.0 7 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 1 km SSW of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.2 3 km S of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.7 3 km SSE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 5 km ENE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.9 6 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 14 km SSE 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.