QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near La Parguera, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in La Parguera in the last 24 hours. M 2.4, 13 km (8 mi) ESE of La Parguera, at 3:43 pm AST on 11 November 2026 (19:43 UTC); the estimated shaking in La Parguera was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near La Parguera

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northeast of La Parguera, PR, at 10:52 pm AST on 22 March 2019 (02:52 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 2 km NNE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico

44 km (27 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 25 km (16 mi) SSE of Mayagüez, PR

10:52 pm AST, Mar 22, 2019 · · 14 km deep · released about 18 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lajas Municipio 2 kmSan Germán Municipio 12 kmSabana Grande Municipio 13 kmGuánica Municipio 13 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 15 kmHormigueros Municipio 17 kmYauco Municipio 21 kmMaricao Municipio 22 kmGuayanilla Municipio 25 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
10:52 pm AST on 22 March 2019 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) north-northeast of La Parguera, PR · earthquakes near La Parguera
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lajas Municipio, 2 km S
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 3 km (2 mi) from the epicentre. In La Parguera, 3 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: Lajas, Palmarejo, San Germán, Sabana Eneas, Liborio Negron Torres, Sabana Grande.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 18 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 840,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 53× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 18 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 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 45 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 41 km WNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 40 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 18.0000, -67.0366. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lajas Municipio, PR 2 km (2 mi) S earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) N earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) ESE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) W earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) NNW earthquakes near Hormigueros 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. 2.4 19 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 20 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 3 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 6 km NNW of Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.7 11 km NE of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 4 km SSE of Espino, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.5 3 km NNE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 18 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.9 4 km NNW of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.8 9 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.8 18 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.6 3 km SSE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 1 km ENE of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.8 3 km SW of Las Marías, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.8 15 km NW 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.