QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Maricao, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Maricao in the 24 hours to 4:35 pm AST (20:35 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 33 km (20 mi) SSE, at 3:45 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Maricao

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Maricao, PR, at 2:50 am AST on 4 January 2021 (06:50 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 7 km ENE of Maricao, Puerto Rico

93 km (58 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR · 24 km (15 mi) E of Mayagüez, PR

2:50 am AST, Jan 4, 2021 · · 14 km deep · released about 10 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Maricao Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Maricao Municipio 4 kmLas Marías Municipio 7 kmLares Municipio 10 kmSabana Grande Municipio 13 kmYauco Municipio 14 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 15 kmSan Germán Municipio 17 kmAdjuntas Municipio 17 kmHormigueros Municipio 22 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
2:50 am AST on 4 January 2021 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) east-northeast of Maricao, PR · earthquakes near Maricao
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Maricao Municipio, 4 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2092 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Maricao, 7 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: Lares, Juncal, Sabana Grande, San Sebastián, Liborio Negron Torres, Lluveras.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 10 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 1,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,100,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 95× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 10 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 12,000,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 41 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 27 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 48 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 48 km W 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 18.2015, -66.9156. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Maricao Municipio, PR 4 km (2 mi) SW earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) WNW earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio
Lares Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) NNE earthquakes near Lares Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) SSW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) SSE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
San Sebastián Municipio, PR 15 km (10 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Sebastián 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. 1.7 7 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.2 2 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.1 4 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 6 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 4 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.7 2 km E of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.7 6 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.8 4 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.9 2 km SE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.6 7 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 6 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.0 8 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.7 1 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.6 9 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.3 8 km SSE of Maria Antonia, 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.