QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Olimpo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Olimpo in the 24 hours to 11:07 pm AST (03:07 UTC). The last one was M 3.3, 36 km (22 mi) WSW, at 8:40 am AST on 1 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Olimpo

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northeast of Olimpo, PR, at 4:14 am AST on 23 May 2021 (08:14 UTC), 15 km deep.

USGS: 3 km NNE of Olimpo, Puerto Rico

42 km (26 mi) S of San Juan, PR · 23 km (14 mi) SSW of Caguas, PR

4:14 am AST, May 23, 2021 · · 15 km deep · released about 72 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Olimpo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guayama Municipio 7 kmArroyo Municipio 9 kmCayey Municipio 10 kmPatillas Municipio 12 kmCidra Municipio 17 kmSan Lorenzo Municipio 18 kmSalinas Municipio 18 kmAibonito Municipio 21 kmCaguas Municipio 21 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
4:14 am AST on 23 May 2021 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) north-northeast of Olimpo, PR · earthquakes near Olimpo
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
15 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guayama Municipio, 7 km SSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1999 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 12 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In Olimpo, 3 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.

Likely felt in: Guayama 5 km, intensity II · Cayey 11 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 72 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 210,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 150,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 13× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 72 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 4.6 on 2016-12-05 — about 3,300 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 26 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 18.0306, -66.0996. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guayama Municipio, PR 7 km (5 mi) SSW earthquakes near Guayama Municipio
Arroyo Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) SE earthquakes near Arroyo Municipio
Cayey Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) NW earthquakes near Cayey Municipio
Patillas Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) ESE earthquakes near Patillas Municipio
Cidra Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) NNW earthquakes near Cidra Municipio
San Lorenzo Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) NE earthquakes near San Lorenzo Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 3.1 3 km ESE of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.4 4 km ESE of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.4 3 km ESE of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  4. 3.3 1 km SW of Cayey, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 10 km SW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.8 1 km SSW of Cayey, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.0 2 km SW of Canovanas, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 5 km S of Morovis, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.7 0 km NW of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 1 km SE of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 2 km W of Pastos, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.3 4 km SSW of Las Piedras, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.4 23 km SE of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.1 25 km SE of Emajagua, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.4 2 km NNW of Potala Pastillo, 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.