QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.6md

Earthquake near Maricao, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Maricao in the 24 hours to 11:31 am AST (15:31 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 2.6 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) southwest of Maricao, PR, at 2:48 pm AST on 16 March 2023 (18:48 UTC), 25 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 5 km SW of Maricao, Puerto Rico

15 km (10 mi) ESE of Mayagüez, PR · 105 km (65 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

2:48 pm AST, Mar 16, 2023 · · 25 km deep · released about 230 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Maricao Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Germán Municipio 4 kmMaricao Municipio 9 kmSabana Grande Municipio 9 kmLas Marías Municipio 11 kmHormigueros Municipio 11 kmYauco Municipio 17 kmLajas Municipio 18 kmAñasco Municipio 21 kmLares 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
2:48 pm AST on 16 March 2023 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) southwest of Maricao, PR · earthquakes near Maricao
Magnitude
M 2.6 (md)
Depth
25 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity III
Nearest
San Germán Municipio, 4 km SW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1336 days ago

This was a small earthquake. Shaking like this is often felt indoors nearby and very rarely causes damage.

At this magnitude and depth it was probably too small to be felt, even directly above it. In Maricao, 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: San Germán, Sabana Grande, Sabana Eneas, Lajas, Monte Grande, Hormigueros.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 230 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.6 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 65,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 46,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 4.1× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.6 about 230 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 520,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 40 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 30 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 38 km W of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 38 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 18.1382, -67.0128. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Germán Municipio, PR 4 km (3 mi) SW earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) ENE earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) SE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) NNE earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) W earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) ESE earthquakes near Yauco Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 2 km WNW of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 5 km WSW of Gu?nica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.4 2 km W of Indios, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.6 4 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.1 5 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.6 5 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.4 4 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 1.6 4 km SSW of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.3 8 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 3 km NNW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.0 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.1 3 km SW of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.6 5 km NNE of San Germán, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.9 6 km ESE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.5 5 km WSW of Guánica, 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.