QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near La Plena, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in La Plena in the 24 hours to 10:13 am AST (14:13 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 31 km (19 mi) SW, at 7:09 pm AST on 5 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near La Plena

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) northeast of La Plena, PR, at 3:08 am AST on 30 July 2026 (07:08 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 3 km NE of La Plena, Puerto Rico

39 km (24 mi) SSW of San Juan, PR · 24 km (15 mi) SW of Caguas, PR

3:08 am AST, Jul 30, 2026 · · 14 km deep · released about 44 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cayey Municipio 5 kmAibonito Municipio 11 kmCidra Municipio 12 kmGuayama Municipio 12 kmSalinas Municipio 14 kmComerío Municipio 18 kmArroyo Municipio 19 kmCoamo Municipio 19 kmBarranquitas Municipio 20 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
3:08 am AST on 30 July 2026 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) northeast of La Plena, PR · earthquakes near La Plena
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cayey Municipio, 5 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 104 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In La Plena, 4 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: Cayey 5 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 44 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 340,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 240,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 44 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 5,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 22 km NNE 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 18.0707, -66.1832. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cayey Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) NE earthquakes near Cayey Municipio
Aibonito Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) NW earthquakes near Aibonito Municipio
Cidra Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) N earthquakes near Cidra Municipio
Guayama Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) SSE earthquakes near Guayama Municipio
Salinas Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) SW earthquakes near Salinas Municipio
Comerío Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) NNW earthquakes near Comerío Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 7 km ESE of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.7 11 km S of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 15 km S of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 13 km S of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.2 14 km S of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.5 10 km S of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 15 km S of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.7 9 km SSW of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.0 8 km S of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.3 10 km S of Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 2 km NNW of Aibonito, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.2 6 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.7 7 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.4 6 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.4 7 km SSE of Ponce, 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.