QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Arecibo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Arecibo in the 24 hours to 11:29 am AST (15:29 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 49 km (31 mi) NW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Arecibo

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 16 km (10 mi) north of Arecibo, PR, at 5:16 pm AST on 11 May 2026 (21:16 UTC), 19 km deep.

USGS: 16 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico

74 km (46 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 18 km (11 mi) N of Arecibo, PR

5:16 pm AST, May 11, 2026 · · 19 km deep · released about 190 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Arecibo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hatillo Municipio 21 kmArecibo Municipio 21 kmCamuy Municipio 24 kmBarceloneta Municipio 24 kmQuebradillas Municipio 27 kmManatí Municipio 31 kmFlorida Municipio 33 kmIsabela Municipio 34 kmUtuado Municipio 39 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
5:16 pm AST on 11 May 2026 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) north of Arecibo, PR · earthquakes near Arecibo
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hatillo Municipio, 21 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 184 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In Arecibo, 16 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: Carrizales, Hatillo, Corcovado, Camuy, Animas, Bajadero.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 190 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 78,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 55,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 190 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 4.4 on 2018-12-09 — about 620 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. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 49 km W of this epicentre
  2. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 48 km N of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 48 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 18 km ESE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 44 km SW 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 18.6182, -66.7275. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hatillo Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) SSW earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) SSE earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) SW earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) SE earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) SW earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) SE earthquakes near Manatí Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 10 km NNE of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 5 km N of Animas, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.1 36 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 1 km SW of Lares, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 19 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.3 4 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.9 7 km NNE of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 12 km S of Lares, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.1 57 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.0 52 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 14 km N of Carrizales, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.0 5 km W of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 2 km W of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 22 km NNW of Camuy, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.1 0 km WNW of Monserrate, 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.