QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.3md

Earthquake near La Parguera, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in La Parguera in the 24 hours to 10:48 am AST (14:48 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 9 km (5 mi) WNW, at 11:57 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near La Parguera

This page: a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) southwest of La Parguera, PR, at 5:43 pm AST on 1 July 2021 (21:43 UTC), 10 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 3 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico

28 km (18 mi) SSE of Mayagüez, PR · 118 km (73 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

5:43 pm AST, Jul 1, 2021 · · 10 km deep · released about 1.4 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near La Parguera Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lajas Municipio 4 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 12 kmGuánica Municipio 16 kmSan Germán Municipio 17 kmSabana Grande Municipio 19 kmHormigueros Municipio 20 kmYauco Municipio 27 kmMaricao Municipio 28 kmGuayanilla 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
5:43 pm AST on 1 July 2021 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) southwest of La Parguera, PR · earthquakes near La Parguera
Magnitude
M 3.3 (md)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
Lajas Municipio, 4 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1889 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 52 km (32 mi) from the epicentre. In La Parguera, 3 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 12 km, intensity III · San Germán 14 km, intensity III · Puerto Real 18 km, intensity III · Yauco 25 km, intensity II · Mayagüez 28 km, intensity II · Guayanilla 30 km, intensity II · Magas Arriba 33 km, intensity II · Tallaboa 38 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.4 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 120,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 5,400× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 3,800× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.4 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.9× more

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 43,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 49 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 41 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 40 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 17.9560, -67.0710. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lajas Municipio, PR 4 km (3 mi) NE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) WNW earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) E earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) NNE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) NE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 20 km (13 mi) NNW earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.8 2 km NW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 11 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 11 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 Puerto Rico region
  5. 2.7 12 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.5 8 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.2 10 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.1 10 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 1 km SE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.8 6 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.6 5 km ENE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 6 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.3 6 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.9 5 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.6 3 km SE 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.