QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2md

Earthquake near Piedra Gorda, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Piedra Gorda in the 24 hours to 10:43 am AST (14:43 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 42 km (26 mi) NNW, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Piedra Gorda

This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded in Piedra Gorda, PR, at 11:47 pm AST on 21 December 2019 (03:47 UTC), 8.0 km deep.

USGS: 1 km SE of Piedra Gorda, Puerto Rico

86 km (53 mi) W of San Juan, PR · 15 km (9 mi) WSW of Arecibo, PR

11:47 pm AST, Dec 21, 2019 · · 8.0 km deep · released about 67 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Piedra Gorda Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Camuy Municipio 3 kmQuebradillas Municipio 7 kmHatillo Municipio 8 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 14 kmIsabela Municipio 16 kmLares Municipio 16 kmArecibo Municipio 21 kmMoca Municipio 22 kmLas Marías Municipio 24 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
11:47 pm AST on 21 December 2019 ()
Where
in Piedra Gorda, PR · earthquakes near Piedra Gorda
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
8.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Camuy Municipio, 3 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2516 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 17 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. 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: Quebradillas 9 km, intensity II · Hatillo 9 km, intensity II · Lares 14 km, intensity II · San Sebastián 15 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 67 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 230,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 160,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 14× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 67 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

No earthquake of M4 or more has been recorded within 50 km since our catalogue begins in 2016.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 7.1 24 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 45 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 36 km W of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 40 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 40 km NW of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 36 km ENE 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 18.4226, -66.8750. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Camuy Municipio, PR 3 km (2 mi) NNE earthquakes near Camuy Municipio
Quebradillas Municipio, PR 7 km (5 mi) NW earthquakes near Quebradillas Municipio
Hatillo Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) ENE earthquakes near Hatillo Municipio
San Sebastián Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) SW earthquakes near San Sebastián Municipio
Isabela Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) WNW earthquakes near Isabela Municipio
Lares Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) S earthquakes near Lares Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.0 5 km N of Juncal, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.0 2 km SSW of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.7 7 km SW of Jayuya, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.7 0 km NNE of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 5 km N of Jayuya, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.8 2 km SSE of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.8 2 km NNE of Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 0 km NNW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.5 2 km NNE of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.6 2 km ENE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.2 23 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.6 0 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.0 13 km W of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.7 3 km WNW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.9 2 km N of Sabana Grande, 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.