QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.2md

Earthquake near Yauco, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Yauco in the last 24 hours. M 2.1, 5 km (3 mi) S of Yauco, at 4:14 pm AST on 11 November 2026 (20:14 UTC); the estimated shaking in Yauco was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Yauco

This page: a magnitude 2.2 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) northwest of Yauco, PR, at 8:32 am AST on 9 March 2023 (12:32 UTC), 19 km deep.

USGS: 3 km NW of Yauco, Puerto Rico

27 km (17 mi) WNW of Ponce, PR

8:32 am AST, Mar 9, 2023 · · 19 km deep · released about 58 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N Yauco Municipio 4 kmSabana Grande Municipio 8 kmGuayanilla Municipio 10 kmGuánica Municipio 13 kmMaricao Municipio 15 kmPeñuelas Municipio 16 kmSan Germán Municipio 18 kmAdjuntas Municipio 18 kmLajas 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
8:32 am AST on 9 March 2023 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) northwest of Yauco, PR · earthquakes near Yauco
Magnitude
M 2.2 (md)
Depth
19 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Yauco Municipio, 4 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1343 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 Yauco, 3 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: Lluveras, Palomas, Liborio Negron Torres, Maria Antonia, Fuig, Indios.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 58 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 260,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 180,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 16× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.2 about 58 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 2,100,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 43 km NNW 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 18.0567, -66.8730. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Yauco Municipio, PR 4 km (2 mi) NNE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) WNW earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) SE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) SSW earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NNW earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
Peñuelas Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) ESE earthquakes near Peñuelas 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. 2.8 6 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.4 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.0 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  4. 1.6 5 km WNW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 4 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.1 6 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.5 4 km SW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.1 4 km SW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.5 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 Puerto Rico region
  11. 2.7 Puerto Rico region
  12. 4.2 6 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.5 2 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 4 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.7 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.