QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

77 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico

Yes. A magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 77 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico, 92 km (57 mi) NNW of San Juan, PR, at 6:26 am AST on 12 April 2026 (10:26 UTC), 24 km deep.

92 km (57 mi) NNW of San Juan, PR

· 24 km deep · released about 680 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Dorado Municipio 78 kmBarceloneta Municipio 79 kmVega Baja Municipio 79 kmManatí Municipio 80 kmVega Alta Municipio 81 kmToa Baja Municipio 82 kmCataño Municipio 85 kmArecibo Municipio 86 kmFlorida Municipio 90 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
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
24 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Dorado Municipio, 78 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 214 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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 680 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 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 680 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 4.8 on 2017-08-18 — about 710 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 9 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 44 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.9 78 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico · 25 km W of this epicentre
  3. 5.7 78 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 15 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.5 64 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 15 km SSW of this epicentre
  5. 5.4 106 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 30 km N 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 19.1638, -66.4127. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Dorado Municipio, PR 78 km (49 mi) SSE earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 79 km (49 mi) SSW earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 79 km (49 mi) S earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 80 km (50 mi) S earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 81 km (51 mi) S earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Toa Baja Municipio, PR 82 km (51 mi) SSE earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.0 52 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.0 66 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.3 53 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.6 93 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.1 48 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.1 68 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.1 75 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.2 93 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.7 117 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.9 65 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 43 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.3 80 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.1 36 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.4 75 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.1 57 km N of Hatillo, 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.