QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Hormigueros, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Hormigueros in the 24 hours to 10:48 am AST (14:48 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 15 km (9 mi) S, at 11:57 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Hormigueros

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) southeast of Hormigueros, PR, at 1:15 pm AST on 2 March 2019 (17:15 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 3 km SE of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico

10 km (6 mi) SSE of Mayagüez, PR · 114 km (71 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

1:15 pm AST, Mar 2, 2019 · · 15 km deep · released about 140 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hormigueros Municipio 2 kmSan Germán Municipio 7 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 16 kmSabana Grande Municipio 17 kmLajas Municipio 17 kmLas Marías Municipio 18 kmMaricao Municipio 19 kmAñasco Municipio 19 kmYauco Municipio 26 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
1:15 pm AST on 2 March 2019 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) southeast of Hormigueros, PR · earthquakes near Hormigueros
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hormigueros Municipio, 2 km NW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2738 days ago

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

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 16 km (10 mi) from the epicentre. In Hormigueros, 4 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: San Germán 7 km, intensity II · Mayagüez 10 km, intensity II · Puerto Real 10 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 140 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 110,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 78,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 140 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2017-10-14 — about 620 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 38 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 50 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 31 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 29 km WNW of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 29 km WNW 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 18.1193, -67.1011. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 2 km (1 mi) NW earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) E earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) SSW earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) ESE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) SSE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) NE earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 1 km N of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.2 4 km NNE of Sabana Eneas, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 13 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 Puerto Rico region
  5. 2.4 3 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.7 9 km SSW of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.7 10 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.8 9 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.9 0 km SSW of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 1 km S of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.1 1 km S of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.6 1 km NNW of Monte Grande, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.2 5 km N of San Germán, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 1 km SE of Espino, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.1 9 km ESE of Maricao, 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.