QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Pole Ojea, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Pole Ojea in the 24 hours to 12:50 pm AST (16:50 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 8 km (5 mi) ENE, at 11:57 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Pole Ojea

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 22 km (14 mi) west of Pole Ojea, PR, at 11:53 pm AST on 23 January 2021 (03:53 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 22 km W of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico

34 km (21 mi) SW of Mayagüez, PR · 147 km (91 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

11:53 pm AST, Jan 23, 2021 · · 12 km deep · released about 160 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Pole Ojea Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cabo Rojo Municipio 22 kmHormigueros Municipio 32 kmLajas Municipio 37 kmSan Germán Municipio 39 kmRincón Municipio 39 kmAñasco Municipio 41 kmAguada Municipio 46 kmSabana Grande Municipio 48 kmLas Marías Municipio 50 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
11:53 pm AST on 23 January 2021 ()
Where
22 km (14 mi) west of Pole Ojea, PR · earthquakes near Pole Ojea
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Cabo Rojo Municipio, 22 km E
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1796 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 19 km (12 mi) from the epicentre. In Pole Ojea, 22 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: Puerto Real, Boquerón, Cabo Rojo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 160 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 95,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 68,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 160 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 17,000 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 · 20 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 18 km N 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 18.0120, -67.3916. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 22 km (14 mi) E earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 32 km (20 mi) ENE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 37 km (23 mi) E earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 39 km (24 mi) ENE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 39 km (24 mi) NNE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 41 km (26 mi) NE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.6 2 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.5 7 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 1.8 5 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.8 6 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.7 Puerto Rico region
  6. 1.6 6 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 8 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 4 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.7 6 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.0 7 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 4 km ENE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 4 km ENE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.0 3 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.2 7 km ESE of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.9 5 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.