QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near Sabana Grande, PR

Yes: an earthquake was likely felt in Sabana Grande in the last 24 hours. M 2.4, 16 km (10 mi) SSE of Sabana Grande, at 3:43 pm AST on 11 November 2026 (19:43 UTC); the estimated shaking in Sabana Grande was intensity II (weak). Every earthquake near Sabana Grande

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 6 km (3 mi) south of Sabana Grande, PR, at 5:54 am AST on 15 March 2023 (09:54 UTC), 6.8 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

37 km (23 mi) W of Ponce, PR · 27 km (17 mi) SE of Mayagüez, PR

5:54 am AST, Mar 15, 2023 · · 6.8 km deep · released about 82 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Sabana Grande Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sabana Grande Municipio 7 kmLajas Municipio 9 kmGuánica Municipio 10 kmSan Germán Municipio 11 kmYauco Municipio 13 kmMaricao Municipio 17 kmGuayanilla Municipio 18 kmHormigueros Municipio 20 kmLas Marías Municipio 22 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
5:54 am AST on 15 March 2023 ()
Where
6 km (3 mi) south of Sabana Grande, PR · earthquakes near Sabana Grande
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
6.8 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sabana Grande Municipio, 7 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1337 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 18 km (11 mi) from the epicentre. In Sabana Grande, 6 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.

Likely felt in: San Germán 10 km, intensity II · Yauco 13 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 82 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 12× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 82 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 1,500,000 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 18.0280, -66.9682. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) SW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) SSE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) NW earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) ENE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 17 km (10 mi) NNE earthquakes near Maricao 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. 3.1 6 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.5 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.5 Puerto Rico region
  4. 2.8 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.4 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.5 3 km ESE of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.8 Puerto Rico region
  8. 2.6 6 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.8 Puerto Rico region
  10. 2.7 5 km E of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 4 km NE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.5 4 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.3 3 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.7 5 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.9 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.