QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.6md

Earthquake near Sabana Grande, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Sabana Grande in the 24 hours to 11:33 am AST (15:33 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 1.6 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) northeast of Sabana Grande, PR, at 8:33 am AST on 22 March 2019 (12:33 UTC), 9.0 km deep.

USGS: 5 km NE of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico

35 km (22 mi) WNW of Ponce, PR · 24 km (15 mi) ESE of Mayagüez, PR

8:33 am AST, Mar 22, 2019 · · 9.0 km deep · released about 6.6 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Sabana Grande Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sabana Grande Municipio 4 kmMaricao Municipio 6 kmYauco Municipio 8 kmSan Germán Municipio 11 kmLas Marías Municipio 13 kmGuayanilla Municipio 19 kmGuánica Municipio 19 kmLares Municipio 19 kmLajas Municipio 19 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
8:33 am AST on 22 March 2019 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) northeast of Sabana Grande, PR · earthquakes near Sabana Grande
Magnitude
M 1.6 (md)
Depth
9.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sabana Grande Municipio, 4 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2791 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 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, Maricao, Lluveras, Yauco, San Germán, Palomas.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.6 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 2,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 140× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.6 about 6.6 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 47 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 35 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 47 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 47 km W 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 18.1173, -66.9305. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 4 km (3 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) N earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) ESE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) W earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NNW earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) SE earthquakes near Guayanilla 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. 2.3 18 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.9 4 km NNW of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.8 9 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.8 18 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.6 1 km NW of Coto Laurel, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 3 km NW of Quebradillas, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.6 3 km SSE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.9 1 km ENE of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.8 3 km SW of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.8 15 km NW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.1 0 km SW of Lajas, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.7 2 km NNE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.8 2 km N of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 3 km NNE of La Playa, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.6 5 km SW of La Parguera, 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.