QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5md

Earthquake near Pole Ojea, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Pole Ojea in the 24 hours to 12:09 pm AST (16:09 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 1.5 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) southeast of Pole Ojea, PR, at 5:59 pm AST on 9 March 2018 (21:59 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 4 km SE of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico

29 km (18 mi) S of Mayagüez, PR · 126 km (78 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

5:59 pm AST, Mar 9, 2018 · · 14 km deep · released about 5.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Pole Ojea Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cabo Rojo Municipio 7 kmLajas Municipio 13 kmHormigueros Municipio 22 kmSan Germán Municipio 22 kmGuánica Municipio 25 kmSabana Grande Municipio 27 kmMaricao Municipio 35 kmYauco Municipio 35 kmLas Marías Municipio 37 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
5:59 pm AST on 9 March 2018 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) southeast of Pole Ojea, PR · earthquakes near Pole Ojea
Magnitude
M 1.5 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cabo Rojo Municipio, 7 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 3169 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Pole Ojea, 5 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Boquerón, La Parguera, Palmarejo, Puerto Real, Lajas, Cabo Rojo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 5.6 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,700,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,900,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 170× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 5.6 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 lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 35 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 34 km NW of this epicentre

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 17.9438, -67.1545. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) NNW earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 22 km (13 mi) N earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) NE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 25 km (15 mi) E earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) NE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 3 km ESE of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.4 1 km NNW of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 29 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 8 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 2 km SSW of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.4 7 km NW of Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.5 17 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.8 2 km NE of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.9 4 km SSW of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.3 17 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.7 4 km SW of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.7 13 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 34 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.9 14 km SSW of Guánica, 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.