QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2md

Earthquake near Stella, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Stella in the 24 hours to 10:44 pm AST (02:44 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 55 km (34 mi) NNE, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Stella

This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 29 km (18 mi) west of Stella, PR, at 9:34 pm AST on 22 January 2021 (01:34 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: 29 km W of Stella, Puerto Rico

41 km (26 mi) WNW of Mayagüez, PR · 100 km (62 mi) WNW of Ponce, PR

9:34 pm AST, Jan 22, 2021 · · 14 km deep · released about 52 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Stella Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 29 kmAguada Municipio 37 kmAñasco Municipio 41 kmMayagüez Municipio 45 kmAguadilla Municipio 45 kmHormigueros Municipio 46 kmMoca Municipio 48 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 48 kmSan Germán Municipio 55 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
9:34 pm AST on 22 January 2021 ()
Where
29 km (18 mi) west of Stella, PR · earthquakes near Stella
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 29 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1831 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 Stella, 29 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: Rincón.

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 4.4 on 2017-10-01 — about 2,300 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 · 39 km NNE of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 37 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 6.3 58 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 43 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 42 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 49 km ENE 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 18.2871, -67.5216. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) ENE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) ENE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 41 km (26 mi) E earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 45 km (28 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Aguadilla Municipio, PR 45 km (28 mi) ENE earthquakes near Aguadilla Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 46 km (29 mi) ESE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 1 km NNE of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.0 1 km NNW of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 17 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.0 5 km ESE of Espino, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 1 km NNW of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.5 22 km W of Pole Ojea, 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.