QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Pole Ojea, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Pole Ojea in the 24 hours to 10:45 am AST (14:45 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 2.3 earthquake was recorded 19 km (12 mi) south-southwest of Pole Ojea, PR, at 7:38 pm AST on 16 December 2019 (23:38 UTC), 40 km deep.

USGS: 19 km SSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico

44 km (27 mi) SSW of Mayagüez, PR · 143 km (89 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

7:38 pm AST, Dec 16, 2019 · · 40 km deep · released about 77 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Pole Ojea Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cabo Rojo Municipio 22 kmLajas Municipio 30 kmHormigueros Municipio 38 kmGuánica Municipio 39 kmSan Germán Municipio 40 kmSabana Grande Municipio 45 kmYauco Municipio 53 kmMaricao Municipio 53 kmAñasco Municipio 54 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
7:38 pm AST on 16 December 2019 ()
Where
19 km (12 mi) south-southwest of Pole Ojea, PR · earthquakes near Pole Ojea
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
40 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cabo Rojo Municipio, 22 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2521 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, 19 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, La Parguera, Puerto Real.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 77 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 5.8 200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 140,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 12× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 77 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 1,100 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 · 42 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 40 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 17.8238, -67.2715. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 22 km (13 mi) NNE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) NE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 38 km (24 mi) NNE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 39 km (24 mi) ENE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 40 km (25 mi) NE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 45 km (28 mi) NE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 7 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 9 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.4 5 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.6 7 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.6 3 km WSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.6 8 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.2 12 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.9 5 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.7 Puerto Rico region
  10. 4.7 7 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.1 9 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.6 9 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 8 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  14. 5.0 10 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 8 km SSE of Guánica, 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.