QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1md

85 km SW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico

Yes. A magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 85 km SW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico, at 7:11 pm AST on 25 January 2018 (23:11 UTC), 51 km deep.

· 51 km deep · released about 1,400 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mayagüez Municipio 76 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 88 kmLajas Municipio 97 kmHormigueros Municipio 104 kmGuánica Municipio 105 kmSan Germán Municipio 107 kmSabana Grande Municipio 112 kmRincón Municipio 115 kmAñasco Municipio 116 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
Magnitude
M 3.1 (md)
Depth
51 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mayagüez Municipio, 76 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3213 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. 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 1,400 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 230,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 10,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,400× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,400 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.5× more

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 17.4180, -67.7448. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 76 km (47 mi) NNW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 88 km (55 mi) NE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 97 km (60 mi) NE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 104 km (65 mi) NE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 105 km (65 mi) NE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 107 km (67 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

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

  1. 2.7 102 km WSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.2 46 km SW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.5 Puerto Rico region
  4. 3.0 40 km SW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 45 km SSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.4 54 km SSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.4 110 km SSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.2 43 km SSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.0 83 km SW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 98 km SSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.8 74 km SSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.9 90 km WSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 43 km SW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 95 km SW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.9 50 km SSW 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

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