QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Arecibo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Arecibo in the 24 hours to 6:05 pm AST (22:05 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 2.4 earthquake was recorded 20 km (12 mi) north-northeast of Arecibo, PR, at 3:49 am AST on 21 August 2026 (07:49 UTC), 7.7 km deep.

USGS: 19 km NNE of Arecibo, Puerto Rico

66 km (41 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 23 km (14 mi) NNE of Arecibo, PR

3:49 am AST, Aug 21, 2026 · · 7.7 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Arecibo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Barceloneta Municipio 21 kmArecibo Municipio 23 kmManatí Municipio 27 kmHatillo Municipio 27 kmFlorida Municipio 31 kmCamuy Municipio 32 kmVega Baja Municipio 33 kmQuebradillas Municipio 36 kmVega Alta 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
3:49 am AST on 21 August 2026 ()
Where
20 km (12 mi) north-northeast of Arecibo, PR · earthquakes near Arecibo
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
7.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Barceloneta Municipio, 21 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 83 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 20 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Arecibo, 20 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: Animas, Garrochales, Sabana Hoyos, Carrizales, Barceloneta, Bajadero.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 4,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.4 61 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico · 48 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 12 km SE of this epicentre
  3. 5.5 64 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 48 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 35 km ESE 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 18.6388, -66.6432. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) SSE earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Arecibo Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) S earthquakes near Arecibo Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) SE earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) SW earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) SSE earthquakes near Florida Municipio
Camuy Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) SW earthquakes near Camuy Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 9 km NNW of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.4 6 km N of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 3 km WNW of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 25 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.8 18 km NNE of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.4 31 km N of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.3 53 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.1 22 km NNE of Brenas, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.1 48 km N of Hatillo, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.8 7 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 6 km NE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.9 10 km N of Animas, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 4 km NW of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 17 km NNE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.4 2 km NW of Corozal, 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.