QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8md

Earthquake near La Parguera, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in La Parguera in the 24 hours to 10:19 am AST (14:19 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 1.8 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) northwest of La Parguera, PR, at 8:14 am AST on 31 August 2022 (12:14 UTC), 6.0 km deep.

USGS: 3 km NW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico

24 km (15 mi) SSE of Mayagüez, PR · 116 km (72 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

8:14 am AST, Aug 31, 2022 · · 6.0 km deep · released about 16 lb 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 11 kmSan Germán Municipio 13 kmHormigueros Municipio 16 kmSabana Grande Municipio 16 kmGuánica Municipio 17 kmMaricao Municipio 24 kmYauco Municipio 25 kmLas Marías 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
8:14 am AST on 31 August 2022 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) northwest of La Parguera, PR · earthquakes near La Parguera
Magnitude
M 1.8 (md)
Depth
6.0 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Lajas Municipio, 4 km ESE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1533 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 La Parguera, 4 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 10 km, intensity II · Pole Ojea 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 16 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 930,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 660,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 59× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 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 7,400,000 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 · 45 km N of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 38 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 37 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 17.9980, -67.0730. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Lajas Municipio, PR 4 km (3 mi) ESE earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) W earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) NNE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NNW earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) ESE earthquakes near Guánica 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. 2.6 4 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.7 11 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 4 km SSE of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.9 3 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.2 6 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 0 km WNW of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 1 km N of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.0 6 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 0 km WNW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.7 Puerto Rico region
  11. 2.0 4 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.1 3 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.3 Puerto Rico region
  14. 2.5 6 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.1 10 km SSW of Jayuya, 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.