QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.0md

Earthquake near La Parguera, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in La Parguera in the last 24 hours. M 2.4, 13 km (8 mi) ESE of La Parguera, at 3:43 pm AST on 11 November 2026 (19:43 UTC); the estimated shaking in La Parguera was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near La Parguera

This page: a magnitude 3.0 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) southeast of La Parguera, PR, at 8:26 am AST on 27 August 2021 (12:26 UTC), 10 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 4 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico

42 km (26 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 32 km (20 mi) SSE of Mayagüez, PR

8:26 am AST, Aug 27, 2021 · · 10 km deep · released about 920 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near La Parguera Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Lajas Municipio 5 kmGuánica Municipio 10 kmSabana Grande Municipio 17 kmSan Germán Municipio 18 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 18 kmYauco Municipio 23 kmHormigueros Municipio 24 kmGuayanilla Municipio 24 kmMaricao Municipio 27 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
8:26 am AST on 27 August 2021 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) southeast of La Parguera, PR · earthquakes near La Parguera
Magnitude
M 3.0 (md)
Depth
10 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Lajas Municipio, 5 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1556 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 35 km (22 mi) from the epicentre. In La Parguera, 5 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: San Germán 16 km, intensity II · Pole Ojea 18 km, intensity II · Yauco 20 km, intensity II · Puerto Real 23 km, intensity II · Guayanilla 25 km, intensity II · Magas Arriba 27 km, intensity II · Mayagüez 31 km, intensity II · Tallaboa 32 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 920 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.0 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 370,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 12,000× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.0 about 920 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 130,000 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 · 46 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 45 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 17.9436, -67.0163. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lajas Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) NNW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) E earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) N earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) WNW earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) NE earthquakes near Yauco 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. 2.4 15 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.8 Puerto Rico region
  3. 2.6 14 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 2 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.7 1 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.7 1 km E of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.3 4 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.0 1 km WSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 7 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.9 4 km N of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.4 3 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.9 1 km NE of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 0 km NE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.9 5 km ESE of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.9 5 km SSW of Guánica, 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.