QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.0md

Earthquake near Sabana Grande, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Sabana Grande in the 24 hours to 11:23 am AST (15:23 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 22 km (13 mi) SSE, at 3:45 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Sabana Grande

This page: a magnitude 2.0 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) southwest of Sabana Grande, PR, at 9:02 pm AST on 17 March 2019 (01:02 UTC), 18 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

39 km (24 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 24 km (15 mi) SE of Mayagüez, PR

9:02 pm AST, Mar 17, 2019 · · 18 km deep · released about 27 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Sabana Grande Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sabana Grande Municipio 6 kmLajas Municipio 9 kmSan Germán Municipio 9 kmGuánica Municipio 12 kmYauco Municipio 15 kmMaricao Municipio 16 kmHormigueros Municipio 17 kmGuayanilla Municipio 20 kmLas Marías 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
9:02 pm AST on 17 March 2019 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) southwest of Sabana Grande, PR · earthquakes near Sabana Grande
Magnitude
M 2.0 (md)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sabana Grande Municipio, 6 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2795 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 Sabana Grande, 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: Liborio Negron Torres, San Germán, Lajas, Lluveras, Palmarejo, La Parguera.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 27 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 560,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 390,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 35× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.0 about 27 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.

Where

Epicentre 18.0415, -66.9883. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) NE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) SW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) NW earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) SSE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) ENE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NNE earthquakes near Maricao Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 2 km NNE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.8 2 km N of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.1 3 km NNE of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.6 5 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.7 3 km S of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.5 14 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.8 6 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.8 2 km NW of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.7 1 km NNW of Lajas, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.6 2 km SSW of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.6 16 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.1 15 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.5 2 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.5 6 km WSW of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.7 2 km S of Capitanejo, 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

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