QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Cabo Rojo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Cabo Rojo in the 24 hours to 12:51 pm AST (16:51 UTC). The last one was M 2.1, 9 km (6 mi) SSE, at 11:57 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Cabo Rojo

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) west of Cabo Rojo, PR, at 2:04 am AST on 9 July 2023 (06:04 UTC), 70 km deep.

USGS: 44 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico

50 km (31 mi) W of Mayagüez, PR · 105 km (65 mi) W of Ponce, PR

2:04 am AST, Jul 9, 2023 · · 70 km deep · released about 650 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Cabo Rojo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mayagüez Municipio 30 kmRincón Municipio 45 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 47 kmHormigueros Municipio 52 kmAguada Municipio 53 kmAñasco Municipio 53 kmSan Germán Municipio 60 kmLajas Municipio 62 kmMoca Municipio 63 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
2:04 am AST on 9 July 2023 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) west of Cabo Rojo, PR · earthquakes near Cabo Rojo
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
70 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Mayagüez Municipio, 30 km W
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1221 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 Cabo Rojo, 49 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.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 650 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.9 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 23,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 16,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.5× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 650 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 4.4 on 2017-10-01 — about 180 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 2 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 26 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 25 km ENE 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 18.1162, -67.6047. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 30 km (19 mi) W earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 45 km (28 mi) ENE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 47 km (29 mi) ESE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 52 km (32 mi) E earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 53 km (33 mi) ENE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 53 km (33 mi) ENE earthquakes near Añasco Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 5 km W of Boquerón, Puerto Rico
  2. 3.4 62 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.1 4 km SSW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.8 20 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.7 Mona Passage
  6. 2.8 17 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.3 Mona Passage
  8. 2.7 Mona Passage
  9. 2.7 9 km NW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.4 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  11. 3.4 51 km W of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.8 Mona Passage
  13. 3.0 33 km WNW of Rincón, Puerto Rico
  14. 3.2 47 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.2 48 km WSW of Stella, 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.