QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2md

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 3.2 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) northeast of La Parguera, PR, at 2:33 pm AST on 14 January 2020 (18:33 UTC), 8.0 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

43 km (26 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 26 km (16 mi) SSE of Mayagüez, PR

2:33 pm AST, Jan 14, 2020 · · 8.0 km deep · released about 2,000 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near La Parguera Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lajas Municipio 2 kmGuánica Municipio 12 kmSan Germán Municipio 13 kmSabana Grande Municipio 13 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 16 kmHormigueros Municipio 18 kmYauco Municipio 21 kmMaricao Municipio 22 kmGuayanilla 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
2:33 pm AST on 14 January 2020 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) northeast of La Parguera, PR · earthquakes near La Parguera
Magnitude
M 3.2 (md)
Depth
8.0 km below the surface
Felt
4 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Lajas Municipio, 2 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2415 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 46 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In La Parguera, 3 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.

Likely felt in: San Germán 10 km, intensity III · Pole Ojea 17 km, intensity III · Puerto Real 19 km, intensity III · Yauco 19 km, intensity III · Guayanilla 25 km, intensity II · Mayagüez 26 km, intensity II · Magas Arriba 27 km, intensity II · Tallaboa 33 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 2,000 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 170,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,700× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,400× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 2,000 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.1× more

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 in our catalogue was M 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 61,000 times the energy of this one.

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 17.9920, -67.0268. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lajas Municipio, PR 2 km (1 mi) SW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) ESE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) N earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) W earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) NNW earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 11 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 2 km W of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 13 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 10 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 Puerto Rico region
  6. 2.7 23 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.1 14 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.8 1 km NNW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.8 2 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.8 10 km S of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.9 0 km SE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.6 5 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 6 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.7 4 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.1 6 km SSW of Indios, 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.