QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.9md

Earthquake near Coamo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Coamo in the 24 hours to 10:13 am AST (14:13 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 6 km (4 mi) S, at 5:05 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Coamo

This page: a magnitude 2.9 earthquake was recorded 9 km (5 mi) north-northwest of Coamo, PR, at 2:09 am AST on 15 July 2023 (06:09 UTC), 7.9 km deep. 2 people have reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 8 km NNW of Coamo, Puerto Rico

46 km (28 mi) SW of San Juan, PR · 29 km (18 mi) NE of Ponce, PR

2:09 am AST, Jul 15, 2023 · · 7.9 km deep · released about 570 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Coamo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Coamo Municipio 7 kmVillalba Municipio 8 kmOrocovis Municipio 9 kmBarranquitas Municipio 11 kmAibonito Municipio 15 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 19 kmMorovis Municipio 19 kmCorozal Municipio 19 kmCiales Municipio 20 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
2:09 am AST on 15 July 2023 ()
Where
9 km (5 mi) north-northwest of Coamo, PR · earthquakes near Coamo
Magnitude
M 2.9 (md)
Depth
7.9 km below the surface
Felt
2 reports · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Coamo Municipio, 7 km SE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1215 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 28 km (17 mi) from the epicentre. In Coamo, 9 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: Coamo 9 km, intensity III · Río Cañas Abajo 14 km, intensity II · Santa Isabel 20 km, intensity II · Jayuya 22 km, intensity II · Ciales 22 km, intensity II · Corozal 23 km, intensity II · Cayey 25 km, intensity II · Ponce 28 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 570 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 27,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 19,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 1.7× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.9 about 570 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 210,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 3 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.8 12 km N of Garrochales, Puerto Rico · 49 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 31 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.0 3 km N of Brenas, Puerto Rico · 40 km N 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 18.1468, -66.4025. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Coamo Municipio, PR 7 km (4 mi) SE earthquakes near Coamo Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) WSW earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Orocovis Municipio, PR 9 km (5 mi) NNW earthquakes near Orocovis Municipio
Barranquitas Municipio, PR 11 km (7 mi) ENE earthquakes near Barranquitas Municipio
Aibonito Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) E earthquakes near Aibonito Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 19 km (12 mi) SSW earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.5 Puerto Rico region
  2. 2.2 3 km SSW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.3 2 km NNW of Indios, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.5 2 km E of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.0 0 km S of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.0 Puerto Rico region
  7. 2.3 4 km SSE of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.3 2 km E of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.1 2 km N of Guayanilla, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.1 2 km N of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.7 Puerto Rico region
  12. 1.9 Puerto Rico region
  13. 2.4 1 km SSW of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.3 1 km S of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico
  15. 3.3 8 km SSW of Potala Pastillo, 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.