QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5md

Earthquake near Vázquez, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Vázquez in the 24 hours to 5:18 pm AST (21:18 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 30 km (19 mi) SW, at 7:09 pm AST on 5 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Vázquez

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded in Vázquez, PR, at 9:19 pm AST on 9 April 2026 (01:19 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 1 km NE of Vázquez, Puerto Rico

41 km (25 mi) SSW of San Juan, PR · 27 km (17 mi) SW of Caguas, PR

9:19 pm AST, Apr 9, 2026 · · 14 km deep · released about 5.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Vázquez Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Aibonito Municipio 7 kmCayey Municipio 9 kmSalinas Municipio 12 kmCidra Municipio 14 kmCoamo Municipio 14 kmGuayama Municipio 15 kmBarranquitas Municipio 17 kmComerío Municipio 17 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 21 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
9:19 pm AST on 9 April 2026 ()
Where
in Vázquez, PR · earthquakes near Vázquez
Magnitude
M 1.5 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Aibonito Municipio, 7 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 216 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. 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: La Plena, Pastos, Coco, Cayey, Aibonito, Parcelas Nuevas.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.6 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 5.0 on 2020-01-07 — about 170,000 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 · 23 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 49 km NNW 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 18.0717, -66.2308. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Aibonito Municipio, PR 7 km (5 mi) NNW earthquakes near Aibonito Municipio
Cayey Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) ENE earthquakes near Cayey Municipio
Salinas Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) SSW earthquakes near Salinas Municipio
Cidra Municipio, PR 14 km (8 mi) NNE earthquakes near Cidra Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) WNW earthquakes near Coamo Municipio
Guayama Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) SE earthquakes near Guayama Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 7 km S of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.2 5 km ENE of Comerío, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 3 km SSW of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 8 km S of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 1 km E of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 6 km ESE of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.6 3 km SE of Tallaboa Alta, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 4 km SSE of Tallaboa Alta, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.1 4 km E of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.6 4 km W of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.2 3 km W of Vázquez, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.9 6 km S of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 6 km S of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.9 11 km S of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.0 5 km SSE of Salinas, 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.