QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Mona Passage

Yes. A magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded in Mona Passage, 12 km (8 mi) E of Mayagüez, PR, at 1:15 pm AST on 9 February 2023 (17:15 UTC), 8.2 km deep.

12 km (8 mi) E of Mayagüez, PR · 104 km (64 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

· 8.2 km deep · released about 21 lb of TNT

Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Las Marías Municipio 5 kmMaricao Municipio 10 kmSan Germán Municipio 11 kmHormigueros Municipio 12 kmAñasco Municipio 15 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 15 kmSabana Grande Municipio 16 kmLares Municipio 18 kmMoca 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
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
8.2 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Las Marías Municipio, 5 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1371 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. 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: Mayagüez 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 21 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 5.8 710,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 500,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 45× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 21 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 in our catalogue was M 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 5,600,000 times the energy of this one.

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 18.2047, -67.0237. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Las Marías Municipio, PR 5 km (3 mi) ENE earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) ESE earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) S earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 12 km (8 mi) SW earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NW earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
San Sebastián Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NNE earthquakes near San Sebastián Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.4 8 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.7 1 km NW of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.6 6 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.6 3 km NE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 7 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.9 7 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 6 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.1 7 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 7 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 Puerto Rico region
  11. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  12. 2.2 2 km W of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.4 Puerto Rico region
  14. 3.1 2 km WSW of Las Marias, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 3 km ENE of Lluveras, 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.