QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Mayagüez, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Mayagüez in the 24 hours to 4:11 pm AST (20:11 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 25 km (15 mi) SSE, at 3:17 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Mayagüez

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) southwest of Mayagüez, PR, at 8:27 pm AST on 19 December 2017 (00:27 UTC), 7.0 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

91 km (56 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 48 km (30 mi) SW of Mayagüez, PR

8:27 pm AST, Dec 19, 2017 · · 7.0 km deep · released about 700 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Mayagüez Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cabo Rojo Municipio 33 kmHormigueros Municipio 46 kmLajas Municipio 47 kmMayagüez Municipio 48 kmSan Germán Municipio 52 kmRincón Municipio 54 kmAñasco Municipio 56 kmGuánica Municipio 59 kmSabana Grande Municipio 59 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
8:27 pm AST on 19 December 2017 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) southwest of Mayagüez, PR · earthquakes near Mayagüez
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
7.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cabo Rojo Municipio, 33 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3165 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 32 km (20 mi) from the epicentre. In Mayagüez, 49 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.

Likely felt in: Pole Ojea 32 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 700 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 22,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 15,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.4× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 700 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 17.9031, -67.4765. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 33 km (20 mi) ENE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 46 km (29 mi) NE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 47 km (29 mi) E earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 48 km (30 mi) WNW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 52 km (32 mi) ENE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 54 km (34 mi) NNE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 5 km SSW of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 9 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.4 8 km W of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.0 16 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.2 26 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.8 16 km NNE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.1 5 km W of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 6 km WSW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.1 2 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.0 80 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 Mona Passage
  12. 1.7 8 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.0 5 km SSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.7 20 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.3 43 km WSW 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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