QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1md

Earthquake near Guánica, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Guánica in the 24 hours to 3:34 pm AST (19:34 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 3.1 earthquake was recorded 5 km (3 mi) southwest of Guánica, PR, at 8:27 am AST on 22 April 2023 (12:27 UTC), 14 km deep.

USGS: Puerto Rico region

35 km (22 mi) W of Ponce, PR

8:27 am AST, Apr 22, 2023 · · 14 km deep · released about 1,400 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Guánica Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Guánica Municipio 2 kmLajas Municipio 11 kmSabana Grande Municipio 16 kmGuayanilla Municipio 17 kmYauco Municipio 18 kmSan Germán Municipio 21 kmPeñuelas Municipio 25 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 26 kmMaricao Municipio 26 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
8:27 am AST on 22 April 2023 ()
Where
5 km (3 mi) southwest of Guánica, PR · earthquakes near Guánica
Magnitude
M 3.1 (md)
Depth
14 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Guánica Municipio, 2 km ENE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1228 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, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 40 km (25 mi) from the epicentre. In Guánica, 5 km away, the estimate is intensity III (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: Yauco 14 km, intensity II · Guayanilla 18 km, intensity II · San Germán 19 km, intensity II · Magas Arriba 20 km, intensity II · Tallaboa 25 km, intensity II · Pole Ojea 26 km, intensity II · Tallaboa Alta 29 km, intensity II · Puerto Real 29 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,400 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.1 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 240,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 11,000× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 7,700× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,400 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.5× more

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 86,000 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 17.9433, -66.9458. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Guánica Municipio, PR 2 km (2 mi) ENE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) WNW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) N earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Guayanilla Municipio, PR 17 km (11 mi) ENE earthquakes near Guayanilla Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 18 km (11 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

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

  1. 2.3 2 km SW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 2 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.0 3 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.2 4 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.2 7 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.0 3 km N of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.0 3 km SSW of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.1 2 km N of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.9 3 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 3 km SSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.1 1 km NW of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  12. 3.0 1 km NE of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.1 10 km SSE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.1 1 km NNW of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.8 1 km SE of Magas Arriba, 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.