QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Earthquake near Aguas Buenas, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Aguas Buenas in the 24 hours to 9:35 am AST (13:35 UTC). The last one was M 4.1, 87 km (54 mi) ESE, at 5:44 am AST on 28 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 5 felt reports to USGS. Every earthquake near Aguas Buenas

This page: a magnitude 2.6 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) north-northwest of Aguas Buenas, PR, at 9:49 am AST on 27 January 2026 (13:49 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 5 km NNW of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico

13 km (8 mi) SSW of San Juan, PR · 10 km (6 mi) SSE of Bayamón, PR

9:49 am AST, Jan 27, 2026 · · 16 km deep · released about 270 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Aguas Buenas Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Aguas Buenas Municipio 5 kmGuaynabo Municipio 5 kmBayamón Municipio 7 kmCaguas Municipio 13 kmComerío Municipio 13 kmNaranjito Municipio 13 kmTrujillo Alto Municipio 14 kmToa Alta Municipio 14 kmCidra Municipio 14 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
9:49 am AST on 27 January 2026 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) north-northwest of Aguas Buenas, PR · earthquakes near Aguas Buenas
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Aguas Buenas Municipio, 5 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 288 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Aguas Buenas, 5 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: Guaynabo 7 km, intensity II · Sumidero 9 km, intensity II · Caguas 11 km, intensity II · Bayamón 11 km, intensity II · Trujillo Alto 14 km, intensity II · Cataño 16 km, intensity II · Levittown 18 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 270 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 57,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 40,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 270 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 4.6 on 2016-12-05 — about 900 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 4 km S of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 32 km NW 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 18.2997, -66.1268. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Aguas Buenas Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) S earthquakes near Aguas Buenas Municipio
Guaynabo Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) NNE earthquakes near Guaynabo Municipio
Bayamón Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) NW earthquakes near Bayamón Municipio
Caguas Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) SE earthquakes near Caguas Municipio
Comerío Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) SW earthquakes near Comerío Municipio
Naranjito Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) W earthquakes near Naranjito Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.2 10 km NNE of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.4 8 km NNE of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.8 6 km SSE of Arroyo, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 2 km N of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 1 km SSW of Candelaria Arenas, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.3 0 km SSW of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.1 3 km ESE of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.5 5 km N of Coamo, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 6 km SSE of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  10. 4.2 2 km SW of Río Lajas, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 3 km SE of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.5 1 km NE of Vázquez, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 1 km SE of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.6 2 km ESE of Jobos, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.1 2 km SE of Jobos, 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.