QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.4md

Earthquake near Cabo Rojo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Cabo Rojo in the 24 hours to 10:41 am AST (14:41 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 9 km (6 mi) SSE, at 11:57 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Cabo Rojo

This page: a magnitude 2.4 earthquake was recorded 45 km (28 mi) west-southwest of Cabo Rojo, PR, at 10:09 pm AST on 16 December 2019 (02:09 UTC), 30 km deep.

USGS: 36 km WSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico

96 km (59 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 53 km (33 mi) SW of Mayagüez, PR

10:09 pm AST, Dec 16, 2019 · · 30 km deep · released about 120 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Cabo Rojo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cabo Rojo Municipio 38 kmMayagüez Municipio 44 kmHormigueros Municipio 51 kmLajas Municipio 52 kmSan Germán Municipio 56 kmRincón Municipio 57 kmAñasco Municipio 60 kmGuánica Municipio 63 kmSabana Grande Municipio 64 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
10:09 pm AST on 16 December 2019 ()
Where
45 km (28 mi) west-southwest of Cabo Rojo, PR · earthquakes near Cabo Rojo
Magnitude
M 2.4 (md)
Depth
30 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cabo Rojo Municipio, 38 km ENE
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 Cabo Rojo, 45 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 120 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 89,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 7.9× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.4 about 120 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 710 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 · 37 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 35 km NNE 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 17.8910, -67.5195. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 38 km (23 mi) ENE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 44 km (28 mi) WNW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 51 km (31 mi) ENE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 52 km (32 mi) E earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 56 km (35 mi) ENE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 57 km (36 mi) NNE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.6 3 km NW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 6 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 45 km SSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 54 km SSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.3 52 km W of Stella, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 Mona Passage
  7. 2.2 6 km NW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 2 km WNW of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  9. 3.3 23 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 2 km N of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 45 km SSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.2 43 km SSW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 29 km WSW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.0 11 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.7 5 km S of Pole Ojea, 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.