Earthquakes in Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is among the most consistently active regions in this catalogue, logging 159 events in the past 30 days alone, and 5 of the events on record reached magnitude 5 or above — the level at which damage becomes a genuine concern for vulnerable construction. Activity here is almost entirely crustal, which means shaking at the surface is strong relative to the magnitudes involved.

3,750 earthquakes have been recorded in Puerto Rico in our catalogue, 159 of them in the past 30 days.

The average magnitude is 2.6 and the average focal depth 21 km. 42 events reached magnitude 4 or above and 5 reached magnitude 5 or above.

The strongest earthquake recorded in Puerto Rico in this period was a magnitude 5.1 event near Carrizales, Puerto Rico on 19 February 2026, at a depth of 32 km. A magnitude 5.1 earthquake radiates roughly 674 tons of TNT equivalent in seismic energy.

Locations recording the most events include Indios (607), Guánica (432), Maria Antonia (236), San Antonio (219), La Parguera (150).

96% of events here are shallow (under 70 km), 4% intermediate (70–300 km) and 0% deep-focus (over 300 km). Almost everything here is crustal. That is characteristic of transform faulting or continental deformation rather than subduction — and it means shaking at the surface is strong for the magnitudes involved.

The deepest event on record here was a magnitude 2.7 earthquake at 160 km beneath Stella, Puerto Rico on 08 March 2025.

By band, the catalogue holds 387 in the magnitude 1 range, 2431 in the magnitude 2 range, 889 in the magnitude 3 range, 37 in the magnitude 4 range, 5 in the magnitude 5 range.

The busiest single day was 12 March 2025, with 38 recorded events.

3 of these events carry a USGS link to NOAA tsunami information. That link flag does not mean a tsunami occurred or that a warning was issued.