QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Pole Ojea, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Pole Ojea in the 24 hours to 4:34 pm AST (20:34 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 8 km (5 mi) ENE, at 11:57 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Pole Ojea

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) west-northwest of Pole Ojea, PR, at 12:16 am AST on 15 October 2019 (04:16 UTC), 11 km deep.

USGS: 3 km WNW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico

25 km (16 mi) SSW of Mayagüez, PR · 130 km (81 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

12:16 am AST, Oct 15, 2019 · · 11 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Pole Ojea Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cabo Rojo Municipio 4 kmLajas Municipio 18 kmHormigueros Municipio 20 kmSan Germán Municipio 23 kmSabana Grande Municipio 30 kmGuánica Municipio 31 kmAñasco Municipio 35 kmMaricao Municipio 36 kmLas Marías Municipio 37 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
12:16 am AST on 15 October 2019 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) west-northwest of Pole Ojea, PR · earthquakes near Pole Ojea
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
11 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cabo Rojo Municipio, 4 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2585 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Pole Ojea, 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.

Likely felt in: Pole Ojea 3 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 870,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 78× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 6,900 times the energy of this one.

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 · 49 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 28 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 27 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 17.9845, -67.2120. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 4 km (2 mi) ENE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) E earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 20 km (12 mi) NNE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) NE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) ENE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) E earthquakes near Guánica Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.8 4 km NW of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 3 km WNW of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 3 km SSE of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 4 km NW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 15 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 4 km WNW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.5 5 km NW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.6 7 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.6 9 km SE of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.6 0 km E of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 4 km E of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.2 21 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 3 km E of Espino, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.8 10 km SSE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.8 3 km SW of Palmarejo, 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.