USGS provides real-time earthquake data, information on historic earthquakes, resources for the most significant earthquakes, and seismicity and ground motions to support future updates to the seismic hazard models for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Our seismic research can help establish better building regulations that mitigate earthquake risks and improve public safety. The Earthquake Hazards Program has collaborated with the Puerto Rico Seismic Network and the Puerto Rico Strong Motion Program to provide staff training and assistance with restoration efforts to the network after Hurricane Maria in 2017. Learn more about the seismic network, latest earthquakes, aftershock forecasts, and other earthquake publications on this page.
El USGS proporciona datos sobre terremotos en tiempo real, información sobre terremotos históricos, recursos para los terremotos más importantes, sismicidad y movimientos del suelo para respaldar las futuras actualizaciones de los modelos de peligrosidad sísmica para Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes de los Estados Unidos. Nuestras investigaciones sísmicas pueden ser utilizadas para establecer mejores normas de construcción que mitiguen los riesgos de los terremotos y mejoren la seguridad pública. El Programa sobre los Riesgos de los Terremotos ha colaborado con la Red Sísmica de Puerto Rico y el El Programa de Movimiento Fuerte de Puerto Rico para entrenar al personal y asistir con los esfuerzos de restauración de la red luego del huracán María en 2017. Conozca más sobre la red sísmica, los últimos terremotos, los pronósticos de las réplicas y otras publicaciones relacionadas con los terremotos en esta página.
Latest Earthquakes | Los últimos terremotos
Figura 1: Captura de pantalla de la herramienta del mapa interactivo Latest Earthquakes en: earthquake.usgs.gov
The USGS Latest Earthquakes tool is part of the National Earthquake Information Center, whose mission is to provide a rapid and accurate data about significant earthquakes worldwide. Data from the Puerto Rico Seismic Network (PRSN) and the Puerto Rico Strong Motion Program (PRSMP), both of which operate seismic stations across Puerto Rico, feed into this tool to provide near real-time maps of ground motion. After a significant earthquake occurs, the PRSN communicates the information to other Caribbean nations. Visit the USGS Latest Earthquakes interactive map tool zoomed into the Puerto Rico region using the link: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/?extent=17.51052,-67.68127&extent=18.96867,-65.04456&range=month&baseLayer=terrain
La herramienta de Últimos Terremotos (Latest Earthquakes) del USGS es parte del Centro Nacional de Información sobre Terremotos (National Earthquake Information Center), cuya misión es brindar datos rápidos y precisos sobre los terremotos más significativos de todo el mundo. Los datos de la Red Sísmica de Puerto Rico (PRSN, por sus siglas en inglés) y el Programa de Movimiento Fuerte de Puerto Rico (PRSMP, por sus siglas en inglés), que operan estaciones sísmicas en todo Puerto Rico, alimentan esta herramienta para proporcionar mapas de los movimientos del suelo en tiempo casi real. Luego de que ocurre un terremoto importante, el PRSN comunica la información a otras naciones caribeñas. Visite la herramienta interactiva de Últimos Terremotos (Latest Earthquakes) del USGS usando este enlace: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/?extent=17.51052,-67.68127&extent=18.96867,-65.04456&range=month&baseLayer=terrain
Puerto Rico Faults | Las fallas de Puerto Rico
Figura 2. Mapa de fallas en el Caribe nororiental. Las estrellas rojas con fechas previas al siglo XX muestran el epicentro del terremoto. La estrella roja con una elipse roja muestra la localización general de varios terremotos del siglo XVII con datos escasos. Las estrellas con años correspondientes al siglo XX y XXI son epicentros de terremotos detectados con instrumentos. Los años en los rectángulos blancos al lado de las líneas rojas indican la tasa de recurrencia. Los signos de interrogación rojos indican tasas de recurrencia desconocidas para las respectivas fallas. Obtenga más información.
USGS researchers have worked to identify and map faults in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean to better estimate the location and magnitude of potential earthquakes. Visit https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-fault-and-what-are-different-types to learn more about what are faults and the different types.
Algunos investigadores del USGS han trabajado para identificar fallas y crear un mapa de fallas de Puerto Rico y el Caribe, a fin de estimar mejor la ubicación y magnitud de los posibles terremotos. Conozca más: https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-fault-and-what-are-different-types
January 2020 Seismic Sequence | La secuencia sísmica de enero de 2020


After the earthquake sequence in January 2020 off the Southwest coast of Puerto Rico, additional seismic monitoring stations were installed by Puerto Rico Seismic Network, Puerto Rico Strong Motion Program and the USGS to provide reliable data about the earthquake's strength, estimate potential damages, and to provide high-quality data to inform aftershock forecasts. Visit the website for the January 2020 earthquake sequence, containing daily news, and other information: https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/2020-puerto-rico-earthquakes
Tras la secuencia del terremoto en enero de 2020 en la costa suroeste de Puerto Rico, fueron instaladas nuevas estaciones de vigilancia sísmica por la Red Sísmica de Puerto Rico, el Programa de Movimiento Fuerte de Puerto Rico y el USGS para brindar datos fiables sobre la fuerza del terremoto, estimar los daños y compartir datos de alta calidad para basar los pronósticos de las réplicas. Visite el sitio web de la secuencia del terremoto de enero de 2020 que contiene noticias diarias y más información: https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/2020-puerto-rico-earthquakes
Learn more about USGS Puerto Rico hazards research and tools. | Obtenga más información sobre las herramientas y las investigaciones sobre los peligros de Puerto Rico del USGS.
Science
The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program monitors and reports on earthquakes, assesses earthquake impacts and hazards, and conducts targeted research on the causes and effects of earthquakes.
Ciencias
El Programa de Riesgos de Terremotos del USGS vigila y reporta los terremotos, evalúa el impacto y los peligros de los terremotos y lleva a cabo investigaciones con objetivos definidos sobre las causas y los efectos de los terremotos.
Puerto Rico Hazards | Los peligros de Puerto Rico
Landslides Triggered by the 2020 Puerto Rico Earthquake Sequence
U.S. Seismic Hazard Maps – Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Samoa and the Pacific Islands, and Guam and Northern Mariana Islands
Significant Earthquakes on a major fault system in Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Lesser Antilles, 1500–2010: Implications for Seismic Hazard
Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards Studies- Models
Explore data releases for Puerto Rico from the Earthquake Hazards Program.
Explore las cesiones de datos para Puerto Rico del Programa de Riesgos de Terremotos.
Multichannel seismic-reflection and navigation data collected using SIG ELC1200 and Applied Acoustics Delta Sparkers and Geometrics GeoEel digital streamers during USGS field activity 2020-014-FA.
Coastal Topography-Anegada, British Virgin Islands, 2014
Explore scientific publications for Puerto Rico from the Earthquake Hazards Program.
Explore algunas publicaciones científicas útiles para Puerto Rico del Programa de Riesgos de Terremotos.
Mature diffuse tectonic block boundary revealed by the 2020 southwestern Puerto Rico seismic sequence
Earthquake magnitude distributions on northern Caribbean faults from combinatorial optimization models
Seismic monitoring during crises at the NEIC in support of the ANSS
Mysterious tsunami in the Caribbean Sea following the 2010 Haiti earthquake possibly generated by dynamically triggered early aftershocks
Along-strike segmentation in the northern Caribbean plate boundary zone (Hispaniola sector): Tectonic implications
Seismic sensors record a hurricane’s roar
Shallower structure and geomorphology of the southern Puerto Rico offshore margin
Quantifying 10 years of improved earthquake-monitoring performance in the Caribbean region
Core data from offshore Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Effects of 2010 Hurricane Earl amidst geologic evidence for greater overwash at Anegada, British Virgin Islands
Event sedimentation in low-latitude deep-water carbonate basins, Anegada passage, northeast Caribbean
Slope failures and timing of turbidity flows north of Puerto Rico
Explore software for Puerto Rico from the Earthquake Hazards Program.
Pedestrian Evacuation Analyst Tool
The Pedestrian Evacuation Analyst is an ArcGIS extension that estimates how long it would take for someone to travel on foot out of a hazardous area that was threatened by a sudden event such as a tsunami, flash flood, or volcanic lahar. It takes into account the elevation changes and the different types of landcover that a person would encounter along the way.
Read research news highlights for Puerto Rico from the Earthquake Hazards Program.
Lea lo más importante de las noticias sobre investigaciones para Puerto Rico del Programa de Riesgos de Terremotos.
- Overview
USGS provides real-time earthquake data, information on historic earthquakes, resources for the most significant earthquakes, and seismicity and ground motions to support future updates to the seismic hazard models for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Our seismic research can help establish better building regulations that mitigate earthquake risks and improve public safety. The Earthquake Hazards Program has collaborated with the Puerto Rico Seismic Network and the Puerto Rico Strong Motion Program to provide staff training and assistance with restoration efforts to the network after Hurricane Maria in 2017. Learn more about the seismic network, latest earthquakes, aftershock forecasts, and other earthquake publications on this page.
El USGS proporciona datos sobre terremotos en tiempo real, información sobre terremotos históricos, recursos para los terremotos más importantes, sismicidad y movimientos del suelo para respaldar las futuras actualizaciones de los modelos de peligrosidad sísmica para Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes de los Estados Unidos. Nuestras investigaciones sísmicas pueden ser utilizadas para establecer mejores normas de construcción que mitiguen los riesgos de los terremotos y mejoren la seguridad pública. El Programa sobre los Riesgos de los Terremotos ha colaborado con la Red Sísmica de Puerto Rico y el El Programa de Movimiento Fuerte de Puerto Rico para entrenar al personal y asistir con los esfuerzos de restauración de la red luego del huracán María en 2017. Conozca más sobre la red sísmica, los últimos terremotos, los pronósticos de las réplicas y otras publicaciones relacionadas con los terremotos en esta página.
Latest Earthquakes | Los últimos terremotos
Figure 1: Screenshot of the Latest Earthquakes interactive map tool at: earthquake.usgs.gov
Figura 1: Captura de pantalla de la herramienta del mapa interactivo Latest Earthquakes en: earthquake.usgs.govThe USGS Latest Earthquakes tool is part of the National Earthquake Information Center, whose mission is to provide a rapid and accurate data about significant earthquakes worldwide. Data from the Puerto Rico Seismic Network (PRSN) and the Puerto Rico Strong Motion Program (PRSMP), both of which operate seismic stations across Puerto Rico, feed into this tool to provide near real-time maps of ground motion. After a significant earthquake occurs, the PRSN communicates the information to other Caribbean nations. Visit the USGS Latest Earthquakes interactive map tool zoomed into the Puerto Rico region using the link: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/?extent=17.51052,-67.68127&extent=18.96867,-65.04456&range=month&baseLayer=terrain
La herramienta de Últimos Terremotos (Latest Earthquakes) del USGS es parte del Centro Nacional de Información sobre Terremotos (National Earthquake Information Center), cuya misión es brindar datos rápidos y precisos sobre los terremotos más significativos de todo el mundo. Los datos de la Red Sísmica de Puerto Rico (PRSN, por sus siglas en inglés) y el Programa de Movimiento Fuerte de Puerto Rico (PRSMP, por sus siglas en inglés), que operan estaciones sísmicas en todo Puerto Rico, alimentan esta herramienta para proporcionar mapas de los movimientos del suelo en tiempo casi real. Luego de que ocurre un terremoto importante, el PRSN comunica la información a otras naciones caribeñas. Visite la herramienta interactiva de Últimos Terremotos (Latest Earthquakes) del USGS usando este enlace: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/?extent=17.51052,-67.68127&extent=18.96867,-65.04456&range=month&baseLayer=terrain
Puerto Rico Faults | Las fallas de Puerto Rico
Figure 2: Fault trace map of the Northeastern Caribbean. All red stars with a date before the 20th century show the intensity center (MI) for that earthquake. The red star with a red ellipse shows the general location of several 17th century earthquakes with sparse felt data. Stars with 20th and 21st century years are earthquake epicenters located using instrument data. Years in boxes next to red outlines are reoccurrence rates. Red question marks indicate unknown reoccurrence rates for those respective faults. Learn more.
Figura 2. Mapa de fallas en el Caribe nororiental. Las estrellas rojas con fechas previas al siglo XX muestran el epicentro del terremoto. La estrella roja con una elipse roja muestra la localización general de varios terremotos del siglo XVII con datos escasos. Las estrellas con años correspondientes al siglo XX y XXI son epicentros de terremotos detectados con instrumentos. Los años en los rectángulos blancos al lado de las líneas rojas indican la tasa de recurrencia. Los signos de interrogación rojos indican tasas de recurrencia desconocidas para las respectivas fallas. Obtenga más información.USGS researchers have worked to identify and map faults in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean to better estimate the location and magnitude of potential earthquakes. Visit https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-fault-and-what-are-different-types to learn more about what are faults and the different types.
Algunos investigadores del USGS han trabajado para identificar fallas y crear un mapa de fallas de Puerto Rico y el Caribe, a fin de estimar mejor la ubicación y magnitud de los posibles terremotos. Conozca más: https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-fault-and-what-are-different-types
January 2020 Seismic Sequence | La secuencia sísmica de enero de 2020
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. Visit Media to see details.Figure 3: Earthquake sequence in Puerto Rico from December 28, 2019, to January 16, 2020. Sources/Usage: Public Domain. Visit Media to see details.Figura 3: La secuencia del terremoto en Puerto Rico del 28 de diciembre de 2019 al 16 de enero de 2020. After the earthquake sequence in January 2020 off the Southwest coast of Puerto Rico, additional seismic monitoring stations were installed by Puerto Rico Seismic Network, Puerto Rico Strong Motion Program and the USGS to provide reliable data about the earthquake's strength, estimate potential damages, and to provide high-quality data to inform aftershock forecasts. Visit the website for the January 2020 earthquake sequence, containing daily news, and other information: https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/2020-puerto-rico-earthquakes
Tras la secuencia del terremoto en enero de 2020 en la costa suroeste de Puerto Rico, fueron instaladas nuevas estaciones de vigilancia sísmica por la Red Sísmica de Puerto Rico, el Programa de Movimiento Fuerte de Puerto Rico y el USGS para brindar datos fiables sobre la fuerza del terremoto, estimar los daños y compartir datos de alta calidad para basar los pronósticos de las réplicas. Visite el sitio web de la secuencia del terremoto de enero de 2020 que contiene noticias diarias y más información: https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/2020-puerto-rico-earthquakes
Learn more about USGS Puerto Rico hazards research and tools. | Obtenga más información sobre las herramientas y las investigaciones sobre los peligros de Puerto Rico del USGS.
- Science
Science
The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program monitors and reports on earthquakes, assesses earthquake impacts and hazards, and conducts targeted research on the causes and effects of earthquakes.
CienciasEl Programa de Riesgos de Terremotos del USGS vigila y reporta los terremotos, evalúa el impacto y los peligros de los terremotos y lleva a cabo investigaciones con objetivos definidos sobre las causas y los efectos de los terremotos.
Puerto Rico Hazards | Los peligros de Puerto Rico
The island of Puerto Rico is subject to numerous threats from natural hazards, including hurricanes, landslides, earthquakes, tsunamis, coastal and inland flooding, environmental contaminants, and freshwater scarcity, among others. USGS science can help citizens better prepare for, mitigate, and adapt to these hazards. This website compiles USGS resources available for Puerto Rico to provide...Landslides Triggered by the 2020 Puerto Rico Earthquake Sequence
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake occurred near Barrio Indios, Guayanilla, Puerto Rico on January 7, 2020. A study of the triggered landslides is ongoing.U.S. Seismic Hazard Maps – Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Samoa and the Pacific Islands, and Guam and Northern Mariana Islands
Seismic hazard maps for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Samoa and the Pacific Islands, and Guam.Significant Earthquakes on a major fault system in Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Lesser Antilles, 1500–2010: Implications for Seismic Hazard
Earthquakes have been documented in the northeastern Caribbean since the arrival of Columbus to the Americas; written accounts of these felt earthquakes exist in various parts of the world. To better understand the earthquake cycle in the Caribbean, the records of earthquakes in earlier catalogs and historical documents from various archives, which are now available online, were critically...Caribbean Tsunami and Earthquake Hazards Studies- Models
The Puerto Rico trench exhibits great water depth, extremely low gravity anomaly, and a tilted carbonate platform between (reconstructed) elevations of +1300 m and -4000 m. we suggest that these features are manifestations of large vertical movements of a segment of the Puerto Rico Trench, its forearc, and the island of Puerto Rico that took place 3.3 m.y. ago over a time period as short as 14-40... - Data
Explore data releases for Puerto Rico from the Earthquake Hazards Program.
Explore las cesiones de datos para Puerto Rico del Programa de Riesgos de Terremotos.
Multichannel seismic-reflection and navigation data collected using SIG ELC1200 and Applied Acoustics Delta Sparkers and Geometrics GeoEel digital streamers during USGS field activity 2020-014-FA.
In March 2020, the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez (UPRM) Department of Marine Sciences conducted a marine seismic-reflection experiment focused on observing geophysical evidence of submarine faulting and mass wasting related to the southwestern Puerto Rico seismic sequence of 2019-20. The seismic sequence culminated with a magnitude 6.4 earthquake centered beneatCoastal Topography-Anegada, British Virgin Islands, 2014
These datasets provide lidar-derived topography for Anegada and a portion of the submerged environs. Elevation measurements were acquired on January 21, 2014 by an Optech Orion M300, and on March 19-20, 2014 by the second-generation Experimental Advanced Airborne Research Lidar (EAARL-B). The authors acknowledge Emily Klipp, Chris Pali, Virgil Rabine, Rudy Troche, and Wayne Wright, all formerly o - Multimedia
- Publications
Explore scientific publications for Puerto Rico from the Earthquake Hazards Program.
Explore algunas publicaciones científicas útiles para Puerto Rico del Programa de Riesgos de Terremotos.
Filter Total Items: 56Mature diffuse tectonic block boundary revealed by the 2020 southwestern Puerto Rico seismic sequence
Distributed faulting typically tends to coalesce into one or a few faults with repeated deformation. The progression of clustered medium-sized (≥Mw4.5) earthquakes during the 2020 seismic sequence in southwestern Puerto Rico (SWPR), modeling shoreline subsidence from InSAR, and sub-seafloor mapping by high-resolution seismic reflection profiles, suggest that the 2020 SWPR seismic sequence was distEarthquake magnitude distributions on northern Caribbean faults from combinatorial optimization models
On-fault earthquake magnitude distributions are calculated for northern Caribbean faults using estimates of fault slip and regional seismicity parameters. Integer programming, a combinatorial optimization method, is used to determine the optimal spatial arrangement of earthquakes sampled from a truncated Gutenberg-Richter distribution that minimizes the global misfit in slip rates on a complex fauSeismic monitoring during crises at the NEIC in support of the ANSS
Over the past two decades, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) has overcome many operational challenges. These range from minor disruptions, such as power outages, to significant operational changes, including system reconfiguration to handle unique earthquake sequences and the need to handle distributed work during a pandemic. Our ability to overcome crMysterious tsunami in the Caribbean Sea following the 2010 Haiti earthquake possibly generated by dynamically triggered early aftershocks
Dynamically triggered offshore aftershocks, caused by passing seismic waves from main shocks located on land, are currently not considered in tsunami warnings. The M7.0 2010 Haiti earthquake epicenter was located on land 27 km north of the Caribbean Sea and its focal mechanism was oblique strike-slip. Nevertheless, a tsunami recorded on a Caribbean Deep-Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DAlong-strike segmentation in the northern Caribbean plate boundary zone (Hispaniola sector): Tectonic implications
The North American (NOAM) plate converges with the Caribbean (CARIB) plate at a rate of 20.0 ± 0.4 mm/yr. towards 254 ± 1°. Plate convergence is highly oblique (20–10°), resulting in a complex crustal boundary with along-strike segmentation, strain partitioning and microplate tectonics. We study the oblique convergence of the NOAM and CARIB plates between southeastern Cuba to northern Puerto RicoSeismic sensors record a hurricane’s roar
The instruments installed at Global Seismographic Network (GSN) stations were designed to record Earth’s vibrations, but they sometimes pick up sound waves from unexpected sources. For example, newly installed infrasound sensors at a station on Puerto Rico recorded the passage of Hurricane Maria on 20 September 2017.Shallower structure and geomorphology of the southern Puerto Rico offshore margin
Oblique convergence between the North American and Caribbean plates along the eastern Greater Antilles island arc has yielded the compressive Muertos margin in the backarc region. The Muertos margin is characterized by an asymmetric thrust belt with overall opposite vergence to the subduction system in the forearc region. Offshore south of Puerto Rico, this thrust belt disappears and is replaced bQuantifying 10 years of improved earthquake-monitoring performance in the Caribbean region
Over 75 tsunamis have been documented in the Caribbean and adjacent regions during the past 500 years. Since 1500, at least 4484 people are reported to have perished in these killer waves. Hundreds of thousands are currently threatened along the Caribbean coastlines. Were a great tsunamigenic earthquake to occur in the Caribbean region today, the effects would potentially be catastrophic due to anCore data from offshore Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
In 2008, as a collaborative effort between Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the U.S. Geological Survey, 20 giant gravity cores were collected from areas surrounding Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The regions sampled have had many large earthquake and landslide events, some of which are believed to have triggered tsunamis. The objective of this coring cruise, carried out aboard thEffects of 2010 Hurricane Earl amidst geologic evidence for greater overwash at Anegada, British Virgin Islands
A post-hurricane survey of a Caribbean island affords comparisons with geologic evidence for greater overwash at the same place. This comparison, though of limited application to other places, helps calibrate coastal geology for assessment of earthquake and tsunami potential along the Antilles Subduction Zone. The surveyed island, Anegada, is 120 km south of the Puerto Rico Trench and is near theEvent sedimentation in low-latitude deep-water carbonate basins, Anegada passage, northeast Caribbean
The Virgin Islands and Whiting basins in the Northeast Caribbean are deep, structurally controlled depocentres partially bound by shallow-water carbonate platforms. Closed basins such as these are thought to document earthquake and hurricane events through the accumulation of event layers such as debris flow and turbidity current deposits and the internal deformation of deposited material. Event lSlope failures and timing of turbidity flows north of Puerto Rico
The submerged carbonate platform north of Puerto Rico terminates in a high (3,000–4,000 m) and in places steep (>45°) slope characterized by numerous landslide scarps including two 30–50 km-wide amphitheater-shaped features. The origin of the steep platform edge and the amphitheaters has been attributed to: (1) catastrophic failure, or (2) localized failures and progressive erosion. Determining wh - Software
Explore software for Puerto Rico from the Earthquake Hazards Program.
Pedestrian Evacuation Analyst Tool
The Pedestrian Evacuation Analyst is an ArcGIS extension that estimates how long it would take for someone to travel on foot out of a hazardous area that was threatened by a sudden event such as a tsunami, flash flood, or volcanic lahar. It takes into account the elevation changes and the different types of landcover that a person would encounter along the way.
- News
Read research news highlights for Puerto Rico from the Earthquake Hazards Program.
Lea lo más importante de las noticias sobre investigaciones para Puerto Rico del Programa de Riesgos de Terremotos.
Filter Total Items: 17