QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0Md

Earthquake near Pole Ojea, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Pole Ojea in the 24 hours to 7:07 am AST (11:07 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 8 km (5 mi) ENE, at 11:57 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Pole Ojea

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) southwest of Pole Ojea, PR, at 11:41 pm AST on 12 December 2016 (03:41 UTC), 37 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

97 km (60 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR

11:41 pm AST, Dec 12, 2016 · · 37 km deep · released about 950 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Pole Ojea Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cabo Rojo Municipio 50 kmLajas Municipio 58 kmGuánica Municipio 66 kmHormigueros Municipio 67 kmMayagüez Municipio 69 kmSan Germán Municipio 69 kmSabana Grande Municipio 74 kmAñasco Municipio 81 kmGuayanilla Municipio 81 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
11:41 pm AST on 12 December 2016 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) southwest of Pole Ojea, PR · earthquakes near Pole Ojea
Magnitude
M 3.0 (Md)
Depth
37 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cabo Rojo Municipio, 50 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3535 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 Pole Ojea, 48 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 950 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 11,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 950 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.

Where

Epicentre 17.6270, -67.4489. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 50 km (31 mi) NE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 58 km (36 mi) NE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 66 km (41 mi) ENE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 67 km (41 mi) NNE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 69 km (43 mi) NW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 69 km (43 mi) NE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 10 km S of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.4 9 km S of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.7 Puerto Rico region
  4. 1.8 12 km SSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.0 12 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 4 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 7 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.9 12 km SSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.0 12 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.2 15 km SSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 13 km SSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 14 km SSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.5 17 km SSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.0 16 km SSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.2 18 km SSE of Pole Ojea, 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

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