QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near Mayagüez, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Mayagüez in the 24 hours to 2:12 am AST (06:12 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 25 km (15 mi) SSE, at 3:17 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Mayagüez

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 44 km (27 mi) southwest of Mayagüez, PR, at 5:03 am AST on 16 July 2020 (09:03 UTC), 10 km deep.

USGS: 30 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico

90 km (56 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 44 km (27 mi) SW of Mayagüez, PR

5:03 am AST, Jul 16, 2020 · · 10 km deep · released about 1,000 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Mayagüez Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cabo Rojo Municipio 31 kmHormigueros Municipio 42 kmMayagüez Municipio 45 kmLajas Municipio 46 kmRincón Municipio 47 kmSan Germán Municipio 49 kmAñasco Municipio 51 kmAguada Municipio 55 kmSabana Grande Municipio 57 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
5:03 am AST on 16 July 2020 ()
Where
44 km (27 mi) southwest of Mayagüez, PR · earthquakes near Mayagüez
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cabo Rojo Municipio, 31 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2295 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 36 km (22 mi) from the epicentre. In Mayagüez, 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 31 km, intensity II · Puerto Real 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 1,000 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 330,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 15,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 10,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 1,000 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 5.2 on 2020-01-15 — about 1,900 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 · 27 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 25 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 17.9698, -67.4758. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) E earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 42 km (26 mi) ENE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 45 km (28 mi) WNW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 46 km (29 mi) E earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 47 km (29 mi) NNE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 49 km (30 mi) ENE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 3 km ENE of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.1 3 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.1 4 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.6 4 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 3 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 5 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.8 5 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.6 5 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 5 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 5 km SSE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.9 4 km SSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.7 5 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.9 5 km SSE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.6 4 km ESE 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.