QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.8md

Earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Tierras Nuevas Poniente in the 24 hours to 9:02 am AST (13:02 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 17 km (11 mi) WNW, at 2:05 am AST on 13 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente

This page: a magnitude 2.8 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) north-northeast of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR, at 5:03 pm AST on 31 October 2026 (21:03 UTC), 68 km deep.

USGS: 18 km NNE of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico

46 km (29 mi) WNW of San Juan, PR · 37 km (23 mi) ENE of Arecibo, PR

5:03 pm AST, Oct 31, 2026 · · 68 km deep · released about 430 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Tierras Nuevas Poniente Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Vega Baja Municipio 19 kmManatí Municipio 21 kmBarceloneta Municipio 21 kmVega Alta Municipio 24 kmDorado Municipio 25 kmFlorida Municipio 31 kmToa Baja Municipio 32 kmArecibo Municipio 33 kmMorovis Municipio 34 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
5:03 pm AST on 31 October 2026 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) north-northeast of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, PR · earthquakes near Tierras Nuevas Poniente
Magnitude
M 2.8 (md)
Depth
68 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Vega Baja Municipio, 19 km SSE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 11 days ago

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 Tierras Nuevas Poniente, 19 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: Sabana, Brenas, Vega Baja, La Luisa, Coto Norte, Ceiba.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 430 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 35,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 25,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.2× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.8 about 430 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 1,100 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 15 km WSW of this epicentre
  2. 5.5 64 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, Puerto Rico · 47 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 66 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 50 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 17 km SE 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 18.6257, -66.4375. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Vega Baja Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) SSE earthquakes near Vega Baja Municipio
Manatí Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) SSW earthquakes near Manatí Municipio
Barceloneta Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) SW earthquakes near Barceloneta Municipio
Vega Alta Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) SSE earthquakes near Vega Alta Municipio
Dorado Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) SE earthquakes near Dorado Municipio
Florida Municipio, PR 31 km (20 mi) SSW earthquakes near Florida Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 9 km NNW of Garrochales, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.0 52 km N of San Juan, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 3 km WNW of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 25 km N of Tierras Nuevas Poniente, 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.