QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Maricao, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Maricao in the 24 hours to 4:39 pm AST (20:39 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 33 km (20 mi) SSE, at 3:45 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Maricao

This page: a magnitude 2.1 earthquake was recorded 10 km (6 mi) east-southeast of Maricao, PR, at 5:38 pm AST on 14 March 2019 (21:38 UTC), 8.0 km deep.

USGS: 9 km ESE of Maricao, Puerto Rico

33 km (21 mi) WNW of Ponce, PR · 27 km (17 mi) E of Mayagüez, PR

5:38 pm AST, Mar 14, 2019 · · 8.0 km deep · released about 43 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Maricao Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Maricao Municipio 5 kmYauco Municipio 9 kmSabana Grande Municipio 10 kmLas Marías Municipio 12 kmLares Municipio 13 kmAdjuntas Municipio 14 kmSan Germán Municipio 17 kmGuayanilla Municipio 20 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 21 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
5:38 pm AST on 14 March 2019 ()
Where
10 km (6 mi) east-southeast of Maricao, PR · earthquakes near Maricao
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
8.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Maricao Municipio, 5 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2799 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 15 km (9 mi) from the epicentre. In Maricao, 10 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: Yauco 14 km, intensity II · Lares 15 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 43 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 350,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 250,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 22× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 43 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. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 46 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 33 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 18.1590, -66.8895. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Maricao Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) WNW earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 9 km (5 mi) SSE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) SW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) NW earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio
Lares Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) N earthquakes near Lares Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) E earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 7 km SE of Jayuya, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.6 6 km ESE of Jayuya, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.7 2 km S of Capitanejo, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 5 km SSW of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 3 km NW of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 15 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.7 1 km ESE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.7 2 km NW of Bufalo, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 8 km N of Arecibo, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.7 3 km W of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.6 17 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 5 km SW of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.7 2 km WSW of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.8 5 km WSW of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.6 3 km WSW of Liborio Negron Torres, 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.