QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Pole Ojea, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Pole Ojea in the 24 hours to 4:19 pm AST (20:19 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 2.9 earthquake was recorded 4 km (3 mi) south of Pole Ojea, PR, at 5:51 am AST on 16 March 2021 (09:51 UTC), 5.0 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 4 km S of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico

30 km (19 mi) S of Mayagüez, PR · 130 km (81 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

5:51 am AST, Mar 16, 2021 · · 5.0 km deep · released about 630 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Pole Ojea Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Cabo Rojo Municipio 7 kmLajas Municipio 17 kmHormigueros Municipio 23 kmSan Germán Municipio 25 kmGuánica Municipio 28 kmSabana Grande Municipio 31 kmMaricao Municipio 38 kmYauco Municipio 39 kmLas Marías Municipio 39 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
5:51 am AST on 16 March 2021 ()
Where
4 km (3 mi) south of Pole Ojea, PR · earthquakes near Pole Ojea
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
5.0 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Cabo Rojo Municipio, 7 km N
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 2066 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 31 km (19 mi) from the epicentre. In Pole Ojea, 4 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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.

Likely felt in: Pole Ojea 4 km, intensity III · Puerto Real 15 km, intensity II · San Germán 22 km, intensity II · Mayagüez 30 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 630 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 24,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 17,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 630 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 190,000 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 · 34 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 32 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 17.9363, -67.1908. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) N earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 23 km (15 mi) NNE earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 25 km (16 mi) NE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 28 km (18 mi) E earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 31 km (19 mi) ENE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 6 km S of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 11 km WSW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 3 km SSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.9 3 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 3 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.6 1 km NW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.7 5 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.8 10 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 11 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.2 7 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 2 km SE of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.1 5 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.2 1 km NNE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.7 4 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.2 2 km SSE of Palomas, 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.