QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.5md

Earthquake near Hormigueros, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Hormigueros in the 24 hours to 10:56 am AST (14:56 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 15 km (9 mi) S, at 11:57 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Hormigueros

This page: a magnitude 2.5 earthquake was recorded 8 km (5 mi) east-northeast of Hormigueros, PR, at 4:34 am AST on 2 January 2023 (08:34 UTC), 27 km deep.

USGS: 7 km ENE of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico

9 km (6 mi) ESE of Mayagüez, PR · 109 km (67 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

4:34 am AST, Jan 2, 2023 · · 27 km deep · released about 160 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Hormigueros Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Hormigueros Municipio 7 kmSan Germán Municipio 7 kmLas Marías Municipio 11 kmMaricao Municipio 13 kmAñasco Municipio 15 kmSabana Grande Municipio 15 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 20 kmLajas Municipio 21 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 23 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
4:34 am AST on 2 January 2023 ()
Where
8 km (5 mi) east-northeast of Hormigueros, PR · earthquakes near Hormigueros
Magnitude
M 2.5 (md)
Depth
27 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Hormigueros Municipio, 7 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1409 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Hormigueros, 8 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: Maricao, Mayagüez, Sabana Eneas, San Germán, Monte Grande, Cabo Rojo.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 160 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.5 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 95,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 68,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 6× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.5 about 160 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 760,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 34 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 46 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 26 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 33 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 33 km W 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 18.1705, -67.0625. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) SW earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 7 km (5 mi) SSE earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) NE earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) E earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NNW earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 15 km (10 mi) SE earthquakes near Sabana Grande 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 5 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 2 km NNW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 6 km N of San Germán, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.8 3 km SE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 1.9 8 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.6 Puerto Rico region
  7. 1.8 0 km WSW of Peñuelas, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.9 5 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.0 6 km S of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 4 km SW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 2 km WSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  12. 1.9 6 km W of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.0 2 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.9 11 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.0 6 km SE of Maria Antonia, 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.