QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.4md

Earthquake near Pole Ojea, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Pole Ojea in the 24 hours to 3:14 am AST (07:14 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 3.4 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) southwest of Pole Ojea, PR, at 2:31 am AST on 5 May 2020 (06:31 UTC), 20 km deep.

USGS: 43 km SW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico

99 km (61 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR

2:31 am AST, May 5, 2020 · · 20 km deep · released about 1.7 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Pole Ojea Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cabo Rojo Municipio 46 kmMayagüez Municipio 56 kmLajas Municipio 57 kmHormigueros Municipio 61 kmSan Germán Municipio 65 kmGuánica Municipio 67 kmSabana Grande Municipio 71 kmRincón Municipio 73 kmAñasco Municipio 74 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
2:31 am AST on 5 May 2020 ()
Where
44 km (27 mi) southwest of Pole Ojea, PR · earthquakes near Pole Ojea
Magnitude
M 3.4 (md)
Depth
20 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cabo Rojo Municipio, 46 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2307 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 52 km (32 mi) from the epicentre. In Pole Ojea, 44 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.

Likely felt in: Pole Ojea 44 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.7 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.4 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 99,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 4,400× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 3,100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.4 about 1.7 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 3.6× 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 4.3 on 2019-09-05 — about 25 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 17.7298, -67.5111. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 46 km (29 mi) NE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 56 km (35 mi) NW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 57 km (35 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 61 km (38 mi) NE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 65 km (41 mi) NE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 67 km (42 mi) ENE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.9 7 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.0 6 km WSW of La Parguera, 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.