QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Guánica, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Guánica in the 24 hours to 12:55 pm AST (16:55 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 1.7 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) southwest of Guánica, PR, at 2:35 pm AST on 14 March 2023 (18:35 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 6 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico

36 km (23 mi) WSW of Ponce, PR · 36 km (22 mi) SSE of Mayagüez, PR

2:35 pm AST, Mar 14, 2023 · · 16 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Guánica Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guánica Municipio 4 kmLajas Municipio 10 kmSabana Grande Municipio 17 kmGuayanilla Municipio 19 kmYauco Municipio 20 kmSan Germán Municipio 21 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 25 kmPeñuelas Municipio 27 kmMaricao Municipio 27 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
2:35 pm AST on 14 March 2023 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) southwest of Guánica, PR · earthquakes near Guánica
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guánica Municipio, 4 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1338 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 Guánica, 7 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, La Parguera, Liborio Negron Torres, Palomas, Lluveras.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 870,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 78× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 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 9,800,000 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 17.9318, -66.9590. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guánica Municipio, PR 4 km (3 mi) ENE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) N earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) ENE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 20 km (13 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

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

  1. 2.5 4 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.2 Puerto Rico region
  3. 2.0 2 km S of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.6 7 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 1.7 Puerto Rico region
  7. 2.3 Puerto Rico region
  8. 2.7 4 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.4 4 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  10. 3.1 Puerto Rico region
  11. 2.5 5 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.4 Puerto Rico region
  13. 3.0 6 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.4 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.9 5 km WSW of Fuig, 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.