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 16 km (10 mi) south of La Parguera, PR, at 7:53 am AST on 7 December 2019 (11:53 UTC), 8.0 km deep.

USGS: 15 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico

49 km (30 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR · 42 km (26 mi) SSE of Mayagüez, PR

7:53 am AST, Dec 7, 2019 · · 8.0 km deep · released about 24 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near La Parguera Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lajas Municipio 16 kmGuánica Municipio 18 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 23 kmSabana Grande Municipio 30 kmSan Germán Municipio 30 kmGuayanilla Municipio 33 kmHormigueros Municipio 34 kmYauco Municipio 34 kmMaricao Municipio 40 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
7:53 am AST on 7 December 2019 ()
Where
16 km (10 mi) south of La Parguera, PR · earthquakes near La Parguera
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
8.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lajas Municipio, 16 km N
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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. In La Parguera, 16 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: Pole Ojea, Guánica, Fuig, Palmarejo, Maria Antonia, Lajas.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 24 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 5.8 640,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 450,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 40× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 24 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 3,600 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 17.8353, -67.0490. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lajas Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) N earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) NE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) NW earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 30 km (18 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) N earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 33 km (20 mi) NE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 11 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 10 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 11 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.2 11 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.8 10 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.7 5 km S of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.1 14 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.9 12 km S of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.1 12 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.8 13 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 21 km SSW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 19 km SSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.6 7 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 12 km SSE of Ponce, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.0 12 km SSE of Ponce, 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.