QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.1md

Earthquake near Pole Ojea, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Pole Ojea in the 24 hours to 9:34 am AST (13:34 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 2.1 earthquake was recorded 12 km (7 mi) west-northwest of Pole Ojea, PR, at 7:18 pm AST on 5 December 2019 (23:18 UTC), 18 km deep.

USGS: 11 km WNW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico

27 km (17 mi) SW of Mayagüez, PR · 138 km (85 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

7:18 pm AST, Dec 5, 2019 · · 18 km deep · released about 37 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Pole Ojea Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cabo Rojo Municipio 12 kmHormigueros Municipio 24 kmLajas Municipio 27 kmSan Germán Municipio 30 kmAñasco Municipio 36 kmRincón Municipio 38 kmSabana Grande Municipio 38 kmGuánica Municipio 40 kmLas Marías Municipio 42 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
7:18 pm AST on 5 December 2019 ()
Where
12 km (7 mi) west-northwest of Pole Ojea, PR · earthquakes near Pole Ojea
Magnitude
M 2.1 (md)
Depth
18 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cabo Rojo Municipio, 12 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2532 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 Pole Ojea, 12 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: Boquerón, Puerto Real, Cabo Rojo, Monte Grande, Hormigueros, Palmarejo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 37 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 410,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 290,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 26× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.1 about 37 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 2,300 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 · 50 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 22 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 21 km NNW 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 18.0020, -67.2945. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) E earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) NE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) E earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 30 km (18 mi) ENE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 36 km (22 mi) NNE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 38 km (23 mi) N earthquakes near Rincón 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. 2.6 4 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.4 8 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.8 12 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 7 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 8 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.0 8 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.2 6 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 10 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  9. 4.7 5 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.2 18 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.6 4 km N of San Germán, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.2 2 km WNW of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.3 23 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.9 8 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.4 1 km ESE of Espino, 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.