Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist
M 2.9md
Earthquake near Puerto Real, PR
Yes. A magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 25 km (16 mi) west-northwest of Puerto Real, PR, at 12:57 am AST on 19 October 2026 (04:57 UTC), 5.9 km deep. No felt reports to USGS yet.
USGS: 25 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
29 km (18 mi) W of Mayagüez, PR · 145 km (90 mi) W of San Juan, PR
- When
- 12:57 am AST on 19 October 2026 ()
- Where
- 25 km (16 mi) west-northwest of Puerto Real, PR · earthquakes near Puerto Real
- Magnitude
- M 2.9 (md)
- Depth
- 5.9 km below the surface
- Felt
- no reports yet
- Nearest
- Rincón Municipio, 26 km NE
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3 hours ago
Earthquake alerts for Puerto Real, PR
Get a notification in this browser when USGS records an earthquake near Puerto Real, PR. No account or email needed.
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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 32 km (20 mi) from the epicentre. In Puerto Real, 25 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: Puerto Real 25 km, intensity II · Stella 25 km, intensity II · Rincón 27 km, intensity II · La Playa 28 km, intensity II · Cabo Rojo 29 km, intensity II · Mayagüez 29 km, intensity II · Boquerón 29 km, intensity II · Hormigueros 30 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.
How big was it?
This earthquake released about 700 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.
- Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
- Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 15,000× the energy of this one
- Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
- This earthquake M 2.9 about 700 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 5.2 on 2020-01-15 — about 2,700 times the energy of this one.
Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:
- 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 38 km NNE of this epicentre
- 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 48 km NNE of this epicentre
- 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 45 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 6 km NE of this epicentre
- 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 5 km ENE 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 18.1555, -67.4107. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Nearby places
| Place | Distance | Direction from the epicentre | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rincón Municipio, PR | 26 km (16 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Rincón Municipio |
| Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR | 30 km (19 mi) | SE | earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio |
| Hormigueros Municipio, PR | 31 km (19 mi) | E | earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio |
| Añasco Municipio, PR | 33 km (20 mi) | ENE | earthquakes near Añasco Municipio |
| Aguada Municipio, PR | 34 km (21 mi) | NE | earthquakes near Aguada Municipio |
| San Germán Municipio, PR | 40 km (25 mi) | E | earthquakes near San Germán 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
- 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.