QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2md

Earthquake near La Playa, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in La Playa in the 24 hours to 6:04 pm AST (22:04 UTC). The last one was M 2.9, 28 km (17 mi) WSW, at 12:57 am AST on 19 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near La Playa

This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) southwest of La Playa, PR, at 6:47 pm AST on 7 January 2021 (22:47 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 7 km SW of La Playa, Puerto Rico

12 km (7 mi) WNW of Mayagüez, PR · 126 km (78 mi) W of San Juan, PR

6:47 pm AST, Jan 7, 2021 · · 16 km deep · released about 52 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near La Playa Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 11 kmAñasco Municipio 13 kmAguada Municipio 16 kmHormigueros Municipio 18 kmMoca Municipio 23 kmSan Germán Municipio 26 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 28 kmLas Marías Municipio 28 kmAguadilla Municipio 29 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
6:47 pm AST on 7 January 2021 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) southwest of La Playa, PR · earthquakes near La Playa
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 11 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2134 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 8 km (5 mi) from the epicentre. In La Playa, 8 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: Stella, Rincón, Las Marias, Mayagüez, Añasco, Espino.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 52 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 290,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 200,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 18× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 52 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 5.3 on 2020-07-03 — about 51,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 7 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 44 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 22 km N of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 34 km N of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 18 km NNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 44 km N of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 25 km NE 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 18.2415, -67.2440. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) N earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NNE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) SE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Moca Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) NE earthquakes near Moca Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 26 km (16 mi) SE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.5 6 km SSE of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.6 6 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.9 2 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.7 9 km SSE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 1 km S of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.6 4 km N of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.7 4 km SW of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.5 1 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.9 7 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.6 6 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  11. 1.7 6 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.8 4 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 2 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.7 6 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.7 4 km SSW of Liborio Negron Torres, 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.