QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Lajas, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Lajas in the last 24 hours. M 2.4, 19 km (12 mi) SE of Lajas, at 3:43 pm AST on 11 November 2026 (19:43 UTC); the estimated shaking in Lajas was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Lajas

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) east of Lajas, PR, at 1:07 am AST on 15 February 2022 (05:07 UTC), 23 km deep.

USGS: 5 km E of Lajas, Puerto Rico

41 km (26 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 22 km (14 mi) SE of Mayagüez, PR

1:07 am AST, Feb 15, 2022 · · 23 km deep · released about 630 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Lajas Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Germán Municipio 8 kmSabana Grande Municipio 8 kmLajas Municipio 8 kmGuánica Municipio 14 kmHormigueros Municipio 15 kmMaricao Municipio 16 kmYauco Municipio 17 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 19 kmLas Marías 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
1:07 am AST on 15 February 2022 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) east of Lajas, PR · earthquakes near Lajas
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
23 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Germán Municipio, 8 km NNW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1731 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 21 km (13 mi) from the epicentre. In Lajas, 5 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: San Germán 6 km, intensity II · Yauco 17 km, intensity II · Puerto Real 19 km, intensity II · Pole Ojea 20 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 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 49 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 40 km N of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 41 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 41 km WNW 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 18.0450, -67.0095. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Germán Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) NE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) SSW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) SE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NW earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NNE earthquakes near Maricao 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. 2.7 16 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.7 2 km W of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 Puerto Rico region
  4. 2.6 9 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.5 7 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.4 3 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 1.8 3 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.9 2 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.4 Puerto Rico region
  10. 2.0 2 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 3 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.8 2 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.0 2 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.0 2 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.6 4 km SW 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.