QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 2 km (2 mi) south-southwest of La Parguera, PR, at 12:06 pm AST on 3 January 2021 (16:06 UTC), 6.0 km deep.

USGS: 2 km SSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico

46 km (29 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 29 km (18 mi) SSE of Mayagüez, PR

12:06 pm AST, Jan 3, 2021 · · 6.0 km deep · released about 11 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near La Parguera Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lajas Municipio 3 kmGuánica Municipio 14 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 14 kmSan Germán Municipio 17 kmSabana Grande Municipio 18 kmHormigueros Municipio 21 kmYauco Municipio 25 kmMaricao Municipio 28 kmGuayanilla Municipio 28 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
12:06 pm AST on 3 January 2021 ()
Where
2 km (2 mi) south-southwest of La Parguera, PR · earthquakes near La Parguera
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
6.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lajas Municipio, 3 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2094 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In La Parguera, 2 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Palmarejo, Lajas, Pole Ojea, San Germán, Boquerón, Sabana Eneas.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 11 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,300,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 930,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 83× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 11 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 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 10,000,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 50 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 42 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 41 km NW 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 17.9541, -67.0548. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lajas Municipio, PR 3 km (2 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) E earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) WNW earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) N earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) NE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 21 km (13 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. 1.6 6 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 9 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.4 10 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.8 5 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.7 1 km WNW of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.9 0 km N of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.8 7 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.7 7 km ENE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.0 4 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 6 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.6 7 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.5 6 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.8 6 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.8 4 km SW of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.7 7 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.