QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Aibonito, PR

Yes. A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Aibonito, PR, at 5:06 pm AST on 18 October 2026 (21:06 UTC), 14 km deep. No felt reports to USGS yet.

USGS: 2 km NNW of Aibonito, Puerto Rico

35 km (22 mi) SW of San Juan, PR · 26 km (16 mi) WSW of Caguas, PR

5:06 pm AST, Oct 18, 2026 · · 14 km deep · released about 21 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Aibonito Municipio 4 kmBarranquitas Municipio 5 kmComerío Municipio 9 kmCoamo Municipio 11 kmCidra Municipio 12 kmNaranjito Municipio 14 kmCayey Municipio 15 kmCorozal Municipio 17 kmOrocovis Municipio 18 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
5:06 pm AST on 18 October 2026 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) north-northwest of Aibonito, PR · earthquakes near Aibonito
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Aibonito Municipio, 4 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3 hours 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 4 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In Aibonito, 3 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: Barranquitas, Pastos, Comerío, Parcelas La Milagrosa, Parcelas Nuevas, Vázquez.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 21 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 730,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 520,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 46× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 5.0 on 2020-01-07 — about 46,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 19 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 38 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 18.1620, -66.2773. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Aibonito Municipio, PR 4 km (2 mi) SSE earthquakes near Aibonito Municipio
Barranquitas Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) NW earthquakes near Barranquitas Municipio
Comerío Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) NE earthquakes near Comerío Municipio
Coamo Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) SW earthquakes near Coamo Municipio
Cidra Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) E earthquakes near Cidra Municipio
Naranjito Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) N earthquakes near Naranjito 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.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.