QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Mayagüez, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Mayagüez in the 24 hours to 2:30 am AST (06:30 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 2.3 earthquake was recorded 40 km (25 mi) west of Mayagüez, PR, at 4:34 pm AST on 25 September 2019 (20:34 UTC), 40 km deep.

USGS: 33 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico

96 km (60 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 40 km (25 mi) W of Mayagüez, PR

4:34 pm AST, Sep 25, 2019 · · 40 km deep · released about 85 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Mayagüez Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 35 kmMayagüez Municipio 40 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 40 kmHormigueros Municipio 43 kmAguada Municipio 43 kmAñasco Municipio 43 kmSan Germán Municipio 51 kmMoca Municipio 52 kmAguadilla Municipio 53 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
4:34 pm AST on 25 September 2019 ()
Where
40 km (25 mi) west of Mayagüez, PR · earthquakes near Mayagüez
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
40 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 35 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2603 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 Mayagüez, 40 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 85 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 11× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 85 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 4.4 on 2017-10-01 — about 1,400 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 45 km NE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 16 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 16 km E 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 18.1591, -67.5176. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 35 km (21 mi) NE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 40 km (25 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 40 km (25 mi) ESE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 43 km (26 mi) E earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 43 km (26 mi) NE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 43 km (27 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 18 km W of Stella, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 28 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.9 67 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  4. 2.1 3 km ENE of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 6 km W of Stella, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.5 61 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 25 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 Mona Passage
  9. 2.4 12 km W of Stella, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.7 60 km ESE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  11. 2.4 32 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.7 44 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.6 1 km W of San Germán, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.8 Mona Passage
  15. 1.6 0 km NW of Cabo Rojo, 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.