QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.7md

Earthquake near Mayagüez, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Mayagüez in the 24 hours to 12:51 pm AST (16:51 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 25 km (15 mi) SSE, at 3:17 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Mayagüez

This page: a magnitude 2.7 earthquake was recorded 48 km (30 mi) west-southwest of Mayagüez, PR, at 6:24 am AST on 12 September 2019 (10:24 UTC), 144 km deep.

USGS: 38 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico

97 km (61 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 47 km (29 mi) WSW of Mayagüez, PR

6:24 am AST, Sep 12, 2019 · · 144 km deep · released about 360 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Mayagüez Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mayagüez Municipio 37 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 39 kmHormigueros Municipio 47 kmRincón Municipio 48 kmAñasco Municipio 53 kmLajas Municipio 54 kmSan Germán Municipio 55 kmAguada Municipio 55 kmMoca Municipio 64 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
6:24 am AST on 12 September 2019 ()
Where
48 km (30 mi) west-southwest of Mayagüez, PR · earthquakes near Mayagüez
Magnitude
M 2.7 (md)
Depth
144 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mayagüez Municipio, 37 km WNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2617 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Mayagüez, 48 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 360 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 42,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 30,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 2.6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.7 about 360 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

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.3 on 2019-09-05 — about 230 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 27 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 25 km NE 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 18.0148, -67.5451. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) WNW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 39 km (24 mi) E earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 47 km (29 mi) ENE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 48 km (30 mi) NE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 53 km (33 mi) NE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 54 km (33 mi) E earthquakes near Lajas Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 6 km W of Stella, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 61 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 25 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 Mona Passage
  5. 2.4 12 km W of Stella, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.7 60 km ESE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  7. 2.4 32 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.7 44 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.6 0 km NW of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.7 3 km WNW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.6 31 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.8 7 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 37 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.7 13 km WSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.8 4 km WNW of Hormigueros, 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.