Puerto Rico Natural Hazards: Earthquakes | Peligros naturales de Puerto Rico: Terremotos
January 2020 Aftershock Forecast Report
Informe del pronóstico de la réplica de enero 2020
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 USGS 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, y recursos sobre 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 de Riesgos por Terremotos (USGS Earthquake Hazards Program) ha colaborado con la Red Sísmica de Puerto Rico y el Programa de Movimiento Fuerte de Puerto Rico para entrenar al personal y asistir con los esfuerzos de restauración de la red sísmica luego del huracán María en 2017. Conozca más sobre la red sísmica, los terremotos más recientes, los pronósticos de réplicas y otras publicaciones relacionadas con terremotos en esta página.
Latest Earthquakes | Terremotos más recientes
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 here.
La herramienta Latest Earthquakes (Terremotos más recientes) 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 significativo, PRSN comunica la información a otras naciones caribeñas. Visite la herramienta interactiva de Latest Earthquakes (Terremotos más recientes) del USGS aqui.
Puerto Rico Faults | Las fallas de Puerto Rico
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. Learn more about seismic faults.
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. Obtenga más información sobre las fallas sísmicas.
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 the Puerto Rico Seismic Network, Puerto Rico Strong Motion Program and USGS to provide reliable data about the earthquake's strength, estimate potential damages, and to provide high-quality data to inform aftershock forecasts. Visit this website for the January 2020 earthquake sequence, containing daily news, and other information.
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 USGS para brindar datos fiables sobre la fuerza de los terremotos, 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.
Learn more about USGS Puerto Rico hazards research and tools. | Obtenga más información sobre las herramientas e investigaciones del USGS acerca de riesgos en Puerto Rico.
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. Learn more about USGS earthquake research in Puerto Rico in the links below.
Ciencias
El Programa de Riesgos de Terremotos del USGS (USGS Earthquake Hazards Program) vigila y reporta los terremotos, evalúa el impacto y riesgos de los terremotos y lleva a cabo investigaciones con objetivos definidos sobre las causas y efectos de los terremotos. Conozca más sobre las investigaciones de terremotos en Puerto Rico en los siguientes enlaces.
Puerto Rico Natural Hazards | Peligros naturales de Puerto Rico
Explore USGS data releases about earthquake research for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
Explore las cesiones de datos del USGS sobre investigaciones de sismos para Puerto Rico el Caribe.
Explore media products on USGS earthquake research for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
Explore los productos multimedia sobre las investigaciones de terremotos del USGS para Puerto Rico y el Caribe.
Explore scientific publications by USGS researchers about earthquake hazards, seismic monitoring, faults and seafloor mapping for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
Explore las publicaciones científicas por investigadores del USGS sobre los riesgos de terremotos, monitoreo de sismos, fallas y mapas del suelo marino para Puerto Rico y el Caribe.
Accounts of damage from historical earthquakes in the northeastern Caribbean to aid in the determination of their location and intensity magnitudes
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 examine
New "Risk-Targeted" Seismic Maps Introduced into Building Codes
Throughout most municipalities of the United States, structural engineers design new buildings using the U.S.-focused International Building Code (IBC). Updated editions of the IBC are published every 3 years. The latest edition (2012) contains new "risk-targeted maximum considered earthquake" (MCER) ground motion maps, which are enabling engineers to incorporate a more consistent and better defin
Historical perspective on seismic hazard to Hispaniola and the northeast Caribbean region
We evaluate the long-term seismic activity of the North-American/Caribbean plate boundary from 500 years of historical earthquake damage reports. The 2010 Haiti earthquakes and other earthquakes were used to derive regional attenuation relationships between earthquake intensity, magnitude, and distance from the reported damage to the epicenter, for Hispaniola and for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Isl
Seismicity of the Earth 1900–2010: Caribbean plate and vicinity
Extensive diversity of tectonic regimes characterizes the perimeter of the Caribbean plate, involving no fewer than four major adjacent plates (North America, South America, Nazca, and Cocos). Inclined zones of deep earthquakes (Wadati-Benioff zones), deep ocean trenches, and arcs of volcanoes clearly indicate subduction of oceanic lithosphere along the Central American and Atlantic Ocean margins
The MW 7.0 Haiti Earthquake of January 12, 2010: USGS/EERI Advance Reconnaissance Team Report
Exploring active tectonics in the Dominican Republic
The devastating 12 January 2010 Haiti earthquake (M = 7.0), which killed an estimated 230,000 people and caused extensive damage to homes and buildings, drew attention to the crucial need for improved knowledge of the active tectonics of the Caribbean region. But even before this disastrous event, interest in understanding the active and complex northeastern Caribbean plate boundary had been incre
Tsunami simulations of the 1867 Virgin Island earthquake: Constraints on epicenter location and fault parameters
The 18 November 1867 Virgin Island earthquake and the tsunami that closely followed caused considerable loss of life and damage in several places in the northeast Caribbean region. The earthquake was likely a manifestation of the complex tectonic deformation of the Anegada Passage, which cuts across the Antilles island arc between the Virgin Islands and the Lesser Antilles. In this article, we att
Extension in Mona Passage, Northeast Caribbean
As shown by the recent Mw 7.0 Haiti earthquake, intra-arc deformation, which accompanies the subduction process, can present seismic and tsunami hazards to nearby islands. Spatially-limited diffuse tectonic deformation within the Northeast Caribbean Plate Boundary Zone likely led to the development of the submerged Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. GPS geodetic data and
Gravity modeling of the Muertos Trough and tectonic implications (north-eastern Caribbean)
The Muertos Trough in the northeast Caribbean has been interpreted as a subduction zone from seismicity, leading to infer a possible reversal subduction polarity. However, the distribution of the seismicity is very diffuse and makes definition of the plate geometry difficult. In addition, the compressive deformational features observed in the upper crust and sandbox kinematic modeling do not neces
Morphotectonics of the central Muertos thrust belt and Muertos Trough (northeastern Caribbean)
Multibeam bathymetry data acquired during the 2005 Spanish R/V Hesp??rides cruise and reprocessed multichannel seismic profiles provide the basis for the analysis of the morphology and deformation in the central Muertos Trough and Muertos thrust belt. The Muertos Trough is an elongated basin developed where the Venezuelan Basin crust is thrusted under the Muertos fold-and-thrust belt. Structural v
Bivergent thrust wedges surrounding oceanic island arcs: Insight from observations and sandbox models of the northeastern caribbean plate
At several localities around the world, thrust belts have developed on both sides of oceanic island arcs (e.g., Java-Timor, Panama, Vanuatu, and the northeastern Caribbean). In these localities, the overall vergence of the backarc thrust belt is opposite to that of the forearc thrust belt. For example, in the northeastern Caribbean, a north-verging accretionary prism lies to the north of the Easte
Far field tsunami simulations of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake: Implications for tsunami hazard to the U.S. East Coast and the Caribbean
The great Lisbon earthquake of November 1st, 1755 with an estimated moment magnitude of 8.5-9.0 was the most destructive earthquake in European history. The associated tsunami run-up was reported to have reached 5-15??m along the Portuguese and Moroccan coasts and the run-up was significant at the Azores and Madeira Island. Run-up reports from a trans-oceanic tsunami were documented in the Caribbe
Explore USGS software related to earthquake hazards available for Puerto Rico.
Explore software del USGS disponibles para Puerto Rico con relación a riesgos por terremotos.
Read research news highlights about USGS earthquake research in Puerto Rico.
Lea las noticias más importantes sobre las investigaciones del USGS en Puerto Rico con relación a terremotos.
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 USGS 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, y recursos sobre 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 de Riesgos por Terremotos (USGS Earthquake Hazards Program) ha colaborado con la Red Sísmica de Puerto Rico y el Programa de Movimiento Fuerte de Puerto Rico para entrenar al personal y asistir con los esfuerzos de restauración de la red sísmica luego del huracán María en 2017. Conozca más sobre la red sísmica, los terremotos más recientes, los pronósticos de réplicas y otras publicaciones relacionadas con terremotos en esta página.
Latest Earthquakes | Terremotos más recientes
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 here.
La herramienta Latest Earthquakes (Terremotos más recientes) 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 significativo, PRSN comunica la información a otras naciones caribeñas. Visite la herramienta interactiva de Latest Earthquakes (Terremotos más recientes) del USGS aqui.
Puerto Rico Faults | Las fallas de Puerto Rico
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. Learn more about seismic faults.
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. Obtenga más información sobre las fallas sísmicas.
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 the Puerto Rico Seismic Network, Puerto Rico Strong Motion Program and USGS to provide reliable data about the earthquake's strength, estimate potential damages, and to provide high-quality data to inform aftershock forecasts. Visit this website for the January 2020 earthquake sequence, containing daily news, and other information.
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 USGS para brindar datos fiables sobre la fuerza de los terremotos, 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.
Learn more about USGS Puerto Rico hazards research and tools. | Obtenga más información sobre las herramientas e investigaciones del USGS acerca de riesgos en Puerto Rico.
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. Learn more about USGS earthquake research in Puerto Rico in the links below.
Ciencias
El Programa de Riesgos de Terremotos del USGS (USGS Earthquake Hazards Program) vigila y reporta los terremotos, evalúa el impacto y riesgos de los terremotos y lleva a cabo investigaciones con objetivos definidos sobre las causas y efectos de los terremotos. Conozca más sobre las investigaciones de terremotos en Puerto Rico en los siguientes enlaces.
Puerto Rico Natural Hazards | Peligros naturales de Puerto Rico
Explore USGS data releases about earthquake research for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
Explore las cesiones de datos del USGS sobre investigaciones de sismos para Puerto Rico el Caribe.
Explore media products on USGS earthquake research for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
Explore los productos multimedia sobre las investigaciones de terremotos del USGS para Puerto Rico y el Caribe.
Explore scientific publications by USGS researchers about earthquake hazards, seismic monitoring, faults and seafloor mapping for Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
Explore las publicaciones científicas por investigadores del USGS sobre los riesgos de terremotos, monitoreo de sismos, fallas y mapas del suelo marino para Puerto Rico y el Caribe.
Accounts of damage from historical earthquakes in the northeastern Caribbean to aid in the determination of their location and intensity magnitudes
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 examine
New "Risk-Targeted" Seismic Maps Introduced into Building Codes
Throughout most municipalities of the United States, structural engineers design new buildings using the U.S.-focused International Building Code (IBC). Updated editions of the IBC are published every 3 years. The latest edition (2012) contains new "risk-targeted maximum considered earthquake" (MCER) ground motion maps, which are enabling engineers to incorporate a more consistent and better defin
Historical perspective on seismic hazard to Hispaniola and the northeast Caribbean region
We evaluate the long-term seismic activity of the North-American/Caribbean plate boundary from 500 years of historical earthquake damage reports. The 2010 Haiti earthquakes and other earthquakes were used to derive regional attenuation relationships between earthquake intensity, magnitude, and distance from the reported damage to the epicenter, for Hispaniola and for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Isl
Seismicity of the Earth 1900–2010: Caribbean plate and vicinity
Extensive diversity of tectonic regimes characterizes the perimeter of the Caribbean plate, involving no fewer than four major adjacent plates (North America, South America, Nazca, and Cocos). Inclined zones of deep earthquakes (Wadati-Benioff zones), deep ocean trenches, and arcs of volcanoes clearly indicate subduction of oceanic lithosphere along the Central American and Atlantic Ocean margins
The MW 7.0 Haiti Earthquake of January 12, 2010: USGS/EERI Advance Reconnaissance Team Report
Exploring active tectonics in the Dominican Republic
The devastating 12 January 2010 Haiti earthquake (M = 7.0), which killed an estimated 230,000 people and caused extensive damage to homes and buildings, drew attention to the crucial need for improved knowledge of the active tectonics of the Caribbean region. But even before this disastrous event, interest in understanding the active and complex northeastern Caribbean plate boundary had been incre
Tsunami simulations of the 1867 Virgin Island earthquake: Constraints on epicenter location and fault parameters
The 18 November 1867 Virgin Island earthquake and the tsunami that closely followed caused considerable loss of life and damage in several places in the northeast Caribbean region. The earthquake was likely a manifestation of the complex tectonic deformation of the Anegada Passage, which cuts across the Antilles island arc between the Virgin Islands and the Lesser Antilles. In this article, we att
Extension in Mona Passage, Northeast Caribbean
As shown by the recent Mw 7.0 Haiti earthquake, intra-arc deformation, which accompanies the subduction process, can present seismic and tsunami hazards to nearby islands. Spatially-limited diffuse tectonic deformation within the Northeast Caribbean Plate Boundary Zone likely led to the development of the submerged Mona Passage between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. GPS geodetic data and
Gravity modeling of the Muertos Trough and tectonic implications (north-eastern Caribbean)
The Muertos Trough in the northeast Caribbean has been interpreted as a subduction zone from seismicity, leading to infer a possible reversal subduction polarity. However, the distribution of the seismicity is very diffuse and makes definition of the plate geometry difficult. In addition, the compressive deformational features observed in the upper crust and sandbox kinematic modeling do not neces
Morphotectonics of the central Muertos thrust belt and Muertos Trough (northeastern Caribbean)
Multibeam bathymetry data acquired during the 2005 Spanish R/V Hesp??rides cruise and reprocessed multichannel seismic profiles provide the basis for the analysis of the morphology and deformation in the central Muertos Trough and Muertos thrust belt. The Muertos Trough is an elongated basin developed where the Venezuelan Basin crust is thrusted under the Muertos fold-and-thrust belt. Structural v
Bivergent thrust wedges surrounding oceanic island arcs: Insight from observations and sandbox models of the northeastern caribbean plate
At several localities around the world, thrust belts have developed on both sides of oceanic island arcs (e.g., Java-Timor, Panama, Vanuatu, and the northeastern Caribbean). In these localities, the overall vergence of the backarc thrust belt is opposite to that of the forearc thrust belt. For example, in the northeastern Caribbean, a north-verging accretionary prism lies to the north of the Easte
Far field tsunami simulations of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake: Implications for tsunami hazard to the U.S. East Coast and the Caribbean
The great Lisbon earthquake of November 1st, 1755 with an estimated moment magnitude of 8.5-9.0 was the most destructive earthquake in European history. The associated tsunami run-up was reported to have reached 5-15??m along the Portuguese and Moroccan coasts and the run-up was significant at the Azores and Madeira Island. Run-up reports from a trans-oceanic tsunami were documented in the Caribbe
Explore USGS software related to earthquake hazards available for Puerto Rico.
Explore software del USGS disponibles para Puerto Rico con relación a riesgos por terremotos.
Read research news highlights about USGS earthquake research in Puerto Rico.
Lea las noticias más importantes sobre las investigaciones del USGS en Puerto Rico con relación a terremotos.