QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7md

Earthquake near Pole Ojea, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Pole Ojea in the 24 hours to 4:44 am AST (08:44 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 2.7 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) west-southwest of Pole Ojea, PR, at 7:44 am AST on 23 December 2018 (11:44 UTC), 40 km deep.

USGS: 47 km WSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico

7:44 am AST, Dec 23, 2018 · · 40 km deep · released about 330 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Pole Ojea Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mayagüez Municipio 38 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 49 kmHormigueros Municipio 61 kmLajas Municipio 62 kmRincón Municipio 66 kmSan Germán Municipio 67 kmAñasco Municipio 70 kmAguada Municipio 74 kmGuánica Municipio 74 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
7:44 am AST on 23 December 2018 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) west-southwest of Pole Ojea, PR · earthquakes near Pole Ojea
Magnitude
M 2.7 (md)
Depth
40 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mayagüez Municipio, 38 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2882 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 330 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 46,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 33,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 330 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 · 45 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 44 km NE 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 17.8530, -67.6158. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 38 km (24 mi) NW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 49 km (30 mi) ENE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 61 km (38 mi) ENE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 62 km (39 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 66 km (41 mi) NE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 67 km (42 mi) ENE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 70 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.0 3 km SE of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 4 km SSE of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.2 2 km ESE of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 33 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.2 40 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.1 71 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 72 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  9. 2.7 34 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 72 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.8 19 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 19 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 12 km NW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.5 48 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.6 11 km SW 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.