QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.9md

Earthquake near Sabana Grande, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Sabana Grande in the 24 hours to 4:00 pm AST (20:00 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 22 km (13 mi) SSE, at 3:45 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Sabana Grande

This page: a magnitude 1.9 earthquake was recorded in Sabana Grande, PR, at 4:49 pm AST on 4 May 2023 (20:49 UTC), 4.7 km deep.

USGS: 1 km ESE of Sabana Grande, Puerto Rico

36 km (22 mi) WNW of Ponce, PR · 25 km (15 mi) SE of Mayagüez, PR

4:49 pm AST, May 4, 2023 · · 4.7 km deep · released about 18 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Sabana Grande Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Sabana Grande Municipio 1 kmYauco Municipio 10 kmSan Germán Municipio 10 kmMaricao Municipio 11 kmLajas Municipio 14 kmGuánica Municipio 14 kmLas Marías Municipio 17 kmGuayanilla Municipio 18 kmHormigueros Municipio 19 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
4:49 pm AST on 4 May 2023 ()
Where
in Sabana Grande, PR · earthquakes near Sabana Grande
Magnitude
M 1.9 (md)
Depth
4.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Sabana Grande Municipio, 1 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1287 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 13 km (8 mi) from the epicentre. 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 12 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 18 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 840,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 600,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 53× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.9 about 18 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 6,700,000 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 · 49 km NW of this epicentre
  2. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 38 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 46 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 46 km WNW 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 18.0752, -66.9502. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 1 km (1 mi) NNE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Yauco Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) E earthquakes near Yauco Municipio
San Germán Municipio, PR 10 km (6 mi) WNW earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) N earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
Lajas Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) SW earthquakes near Lajas Municipio
Guánica Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) SSE earthquakes near Guánica Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.2 7 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.7 5 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 3 km SSW of Liborio Negron Torres, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 2 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.7 12 km SSE of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.3 7 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.6 6 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.4 3 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.2 Puerto Rico region
  10. 2.6 Puerto Rico region
  11. 2.4 6 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.1 8 km SE of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.7 11 km SW of Pole Ojea, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.2 3 km ESE of Maria Antonia, 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.