QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Earthquake near Pole Ojea, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Pole Ojea in the 24 hours to 7:35 pm AST (23:35 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 2.6 earthquake was recorded 25 km (15 mi) south-southeast of Pole Ojea, PR, at 1:17 pm AST on 22 December 2017 (17:17 UTC), 87 km deep.

USGS: 24 km SSE of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico

49 km (31 mi) S of Mayagüez, PR · 133 km (83 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

1:17 pm AST, Dec 22, 2017 · · 87 km deep · released about 280 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Pole Ojea Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lajas Municipio 26 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 27 kmGuánica Municipio 30 kmSan Germán Municipio 40 kmSabana Grande Municipio 41 kmHormigueros Municipio 42 kmGuayanilla Municipio 44 kmYauco Municipio 46 kmMaricao Municipio 50 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
1:17 pm AST on 22 December 2017 ()
Where
25 km (15 mi) south-southeast of Pole Ojea, PR · earthquakes near Pole Ojea
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
87 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lajas Municipio, 26 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3246 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, 25 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: La Parguera.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 280 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 55,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 39,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 3.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 280 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.

For this area

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 17.7591, -67.1228. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lajas Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) NNW earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) NE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 40 km (25 mi) NNE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 41 km (25 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 42 km (26 mi) N earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.3 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 9 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.1 8 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 8 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 11 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.7 24 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.1 3 km SW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 12 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 10 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.9 17 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.1 1 km W of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 8 km W of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.7 7 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.9 8 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.0 14 km SSE of Maria Antonia, 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

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.