QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.3md

Earthquake near Stella, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Stella in the 24 hours to 6:06 pm AST (22:06 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 55 km (34 mi) NNE, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Stella

This page: a magnitude 3.3 earthquake was recorded 22 km (13 mi) southwest of Stella, PR, at 6:23 am AST on 15 March 2022 (10:23 UTC), 56 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico

25 km (15 mi) W of Mayagüez, PR · 141 km (87 mi) W of San Juan, PR

6:23 am AST, Mar 15, 2022 · · 56 km deep · released about 1.3 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Stella Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Rincón Municipio 23 kmHormigueros Municipio 27 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 28 kmAñasco Municipio 29 kmAguada Municipio 30 kmSan Germán Municipio 36 kmMoca Municipio 39 kmLajas Municipio 41 kmLas Marías Municipio 42 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
6:23 am AST on 15 March 2022 ()
Where
22 km (13 mi) southwest of Stella, PR · earthquakes near Stella
Magnitude
M 3.3 (md)
Depth
56 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Rincón Municipio, 23 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1559 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 it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Stella, 22 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Puerto Real, Rincón, La Playa, Mayagüez, Cabo Rojo, Hormigueros.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1.3 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 6.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 6,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 4,300× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.3 about 1.3 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.6× 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 5.3 on 2020-07-03 — about 1,100 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 6 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.4 32 km NW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 50 km N of this epicentre
  2. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 35 km NNE of this epicentre
  3. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 45 km NNE of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 41 km NE of this epicentre
  5. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 2 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 18.1673, -67.3712. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Rincón Municipio, PR 23 km (14 mi) NNE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 27 km (17 mi) E earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 28 km (17 mi) SE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 29 km (18 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) NE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 36 km (22 mi) E earthquakes near San Germán Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 3 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 4 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.8 5 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.2 5 km SSE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 5 km SSE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.0 4 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.7 4 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 5 km W of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 6 km NE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.7 3 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 7 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.2 7 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 Puerto Rico region
  14. 3.4 39 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.8 5 km SW of Liborio Negron Torres, 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.