QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2md

Earthquake near La Parguera, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in La Parguera in the 24 hours to 10:49 am AST (14:49 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 9 km (5 mi) WNW, at 11:57 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near La Parguera

This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) east-southeast of La Parguera, PR, at 11:19 pm AST on 16 January 2020 (03:19 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 4 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 7 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico

38 km (24 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 32 km (20 mi) SSE of Mayagüez, PR

11:19 pm AST, Jan 16, 2020 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 1 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near La Parguera Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guánica Municipio 6 kmLajas Municipio 7 kmSabana Grande Municipio 15 kmSan Germán Municipio 18 kmYauco Municipio 19 kmGuayanilla Municipio 20 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 22 kmHormigueros Municipio 24 kmMaricao Municipio 25 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
11:19 pm AST on 16 January 2020 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) east-southeast of La Parguera, PR · earthquakes near La Parguera
Magnitude
M 3.2 (md)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
4 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Guánica Municipio, 6 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2408 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 47 km (29 mi) from the epicentre. In La Parguera, 7 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 15 km, intensity III · Yauco 16 km, intensity III · Guayanilla 21 km, intensity II · Pole Ojea 22 km, intensity II · Magas Arriba 23 km, intensity II · Puerto Real 25 km, intensity II · Tallaboa 28 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 32 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1 tons 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 7,400× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,200× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1 tons 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 since 2016 was M 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 59,000 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 · 48 km WNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 48 km WNW 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 17.9561, -66.9816. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guánica Municipio, PR 6 km (4 mi) E earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) ENE earthquakes near Guayanilla 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. 2.3 8 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.8 7 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 10 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.6 11 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.8 3 km ESE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.0 4 km S of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.0 8 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 10 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.7 3 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 15 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 3 km ENE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 1 km E of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.0 12 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.3 2 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 10 km S 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.