QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Maricao, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Maricao in the 24 hours to 6:03 pm AST (22:03 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 11 km (7 mi) east of Maricao, PR, at 12:05 pm AST on 20 March 2019 (16:05 UTC), 9.0 km deep.

USGS: 10 km E of Maricao, Puerto Rico

33 km (21 mi) NW of Ponce, PR · 28 km (17 mi) E of Mayagüez, PR

12:05 pm AST, Mar 20, 2019 · · 9.0 km deep · released about 7.3 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Maricao Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Maricao Municipio 6 kmYauco Municipio 9 kmSabana Grande Municipio 12 kmLas Marías Municipio 12 kmLares Municipio 12 kmAdjuntas Municipio 13 kmSan Germán Municipio 18 kmGuayanilla Municipio 20 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 20 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
12:05 pm AST on 20 March 2019 ()
Where
11 km (7 mi) east of Maricao, PR · earthquakes near Maricao
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
9.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Maricao Municipio, 6 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2793 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 6 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Maricao, 11 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: Sabana Grande, Lares, Lluveras, Yauco, Liborio Negron Torres, Juncal.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 7.3 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,100,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 130× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 7.3 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 18.1678, -66.8810. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Maricao Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) W earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) SSE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) SW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) WNW earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio
Lares Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) N earthquakes near Lares Municipio
Adjuntas Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) E earthquakes near Adjuntas Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 1 km NW of Coto Laurel, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.1 3 km NW of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.6 3 km SSE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 1 km ENE of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.8 3 km SW of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.8 15 km NW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.1 0 km SW of Lajas, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.7 2 km NNE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.8 2 km N of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 3 km NNE of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.6 5 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 3 km ENE of Isabela, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.7 3 km S of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.5 14 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.8 6 km WNW of Puerto Real, 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.