QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Maricao, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Maricao in the 24 hours to 1:14 pm AST (17:14 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 33 km (20 mi) SSE, at 3:45 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Maricao

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded 4 km (2 mi) north of Maricao, PR, at 6:53 pm AST on 8 January 2023 (22:53 UTC), 12 km deep.

USGS: 3 km N of Maricao, Puerto Rico

100 km (62 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR · 16 km (10 mi) E of Mayagüez, PR

6:53 pm AST, Jan 8, 2023 · · 12 km deep · released about 25 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Maricao Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Las Marías Municipio 2 kmMaricao Municipio 7 kmSan Germán Municipio 13 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 13 kmLares Municipio 14 kmSabana Grande Municipio 15 kmHormigueros Municipio 16 kmAñasco Municipio 17 kmYauco Municipio 20 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
6:53 pm AST on 8 January 2023 ()
Where
4 km (2 mi) north of Maricao, PR · earthquakes near Maricao
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
12 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Las Marías Municipio, 2 km NE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1403 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 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Maricao, 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Juncal, San Sebastián, Lares, Sabana Grande, Espino, San Germán.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 25 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 620,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 440,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 39× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 25 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 4,900,000 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 · 35 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 45 km NW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 22 km NNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 41 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 41 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 18.2148, -66.9867. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Las Marías Municipio, PR 2 km (1 mi) NE earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) SE earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) SSW earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
San Sebastián Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) N earthquakes near San Sebastián Municipio
Lares Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) ENE earthquakes near Lares Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) SSE earthquakes near Sabana Grande 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. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  2. 2.7 Puerto Rico region
  3. 2.5 6 km SE of Maricao, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.3 5 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 12 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.2 10 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 2 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 Puerto Rico region
  9. 2.5 Puerto Rico region
  10. 2.4 9 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.5 3 km SW of Palmarejo, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 Puerto Rico region
  13. 1.9 Puerto Rico region
  14. 2.9 5 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.1 Puerto Rico region

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.