Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 3.1md
Earthquake near Brenas, PR
Yes. A magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 23 km (14 mi) NNE of Brenas, PR, at 7:24 pm AST on 14 October 2026 (23:24 UTC), 74 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.
USGS: 22 km NNE of Brenas, Puerto Rico
37 km (23 mi) NW of San Juan, PR · 34 km (21 mi) NNW of Bayamón, PR
- When
- 7:24 pm AST on 14 October 2026 ()
- Where
- 23 km (14 mi) NNE of Brenas, PR · earthquakes near Brenas
- Magnitude
- M 3.1 (md)
- Depth
- 74 km below the surface
- Felt
- 1 report · strongest reported intensity II
- Nearest
- Dorado Municipio, 21 km S
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2 hours ago
Earthquake alerts for Brenas, PR
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Alerts are on for .
Not a warning. An alert comes after USGS publishes a quake, usually minutes after the shaking. For early warning use ShakeAlert, through your phone's Wireless Emergency Alerts or the MyShake app.
This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.
At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Brenas, 23 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: Dorado, Sabana, San Antonio, Toa Baja, Ceiba, Ingenio.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 1,300 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 250,000× the energy of this one
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,900× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,300 lb of TNT
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.4× more
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 350 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 32 km WSW of this epicentre
- 5.5 64 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 47 km NNW of this epicentre
- 5.1 66 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 46 km N of this epicentre
- 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 47 km SSE of this epicentre
- 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 19 km SSW 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 18.6637, -66.2820. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dorado Municipio, PR | 21 km (13 mi) | S | earthquakes near Dorado Municipio |
| Toa Baja Municipio, PR | 25 km (15 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Toa Baja Municipio |
| Vega Alta Municipio, PR | 26 km (16 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio |
| Vega Baja Municipio, PR | 26 km (16 mi) | SSW | earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio |
| Cataño Municipio, PR | 28 km (17 mi) | SSE | earthquakes near Cataño Municipio |
| Manatí Municipio, PR | 33 km (20 mi) | SW | earthquakes near Manatí Municipio |
Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.
Aftershocks so far
No further earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.
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.
Revisions
USGS refines a solution as more stations report. Every change we have seen is listed here.
| What changed | From | To | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| reported intensity | not reported | 2 | |
| felt reports | not reported | 1 |
On USGS
- The official USGS event page — the source of record for every value above
- Did you feel it? Report it to USGS — reports go to USGS, not to us
- ShakeMap for this event, when USGS has produced one
QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.