QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.5md

Earthquake near Guánica, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Guánica in the 24 hours to 2:47 pm AST (18:47 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 13 km (8 mi) ENE, at 4:39 pm AST on 9 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Guánica

This page: a magnitude 1.5 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) southwest of Guánica, PR, at 6:13 pm AST on 7 September 2022 (22:13 UTC), 7.5 km deep.

USGS: 4 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico

34 km (21 mi) W of Ponce, PR

6:13 pm AST, Sep 7, 2022 · · 7.5 km deep · released about 6.2 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guánica Municipio 2 kmLajas Municipio 11 kmSabana Grande Municipio 16 kmGuayanilla Municipio 17 kmYauco Municipio 18 kmSan Germán Municipio 21 kmPeñuelas Municipio 24 kmMaricao Municipio 26 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 26 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
6:13 pm AST on 7 September 2022 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) southwest of Guánica, PR · earthquakes near Guánica
Magnitude
M 1.5 (md)
Depth
7.5 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guánica Municipio, 2 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1526 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 7 km (4 mi) from the epicentre. In Guánica, 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Fuig, Maria Antonia, Palomas, Liborio Negron Torres, Lluveras, La Parguera.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 6.2 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 2,500,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 1,700,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 150× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.5 about 6.2 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 19,000,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record since 1900 lists no earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km.

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 17.9408, -66.9412. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guánica Municipio, PR 2 km (1 mi) ENE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) N earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) ENE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 18 km (11 mi) NNE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 21 km (13 mi) NNW earthquakes near San Germán Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.7 Mona Passage
  2. 2.3 Puerto Rico region
  3. 2.4 5 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.4 2 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.0 6 km SSW of Potala Pastillo, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.4 2 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 7 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 0 km ESE of Lluveras, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.1 10 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  10. 1.9 4 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 4 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 2 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 Puerto Rico region
  14. 2.5 1 km WSW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.3 4 km SW 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.