QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.2md

Earthquake near Rincón, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Rincón in the 24 hours to 12:51 pm AST (16:51 UTC). The last one was M 3.4, 53 km (33 mi) NNE, at 9:00 pm AST on 27 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Rincón

This page: a magnitude 3.2 earthquake was recorded 49 km (30 mi) west-southwest of Rincón, PR, at 9:32 pm AST on 19 July 2023 (01:32 UTC), 5.1 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 48 km WSW of Stella, Puerto Rico

58 km (36 mi) W of Mayagüez, PR · 115 km (72 mi) WNW of Ponce, PR

9:32 pm AST, Jul 19, 2023 · · 5.1 km deep · released about 1.1 tons of TNT

Every earthquake near Rincón Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Mayagüez Municipio 24 kmRincón Municipio 49 kmAguada Municipio 57 kmCabo Rojo Municipio 59 kmAñasco Municipio 60 kmHormigueros Municipio 61 kmAguadilla Municipio 66 kmMoca Municipio 67 kmSan Germán Municipio 70 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
9:32 pm AST on 19 July 2023 ()
Where
49 km (30 mi) west-southwest of Rincón, PR · earthquakes near Rincón
Magnitude
M 3.2 (md)
Depth
5.1 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity II
Nearest
Mayagüez Municipio, 24 km WSW
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1210 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 48 km (30 mi) from the epicentre. In Rincón, 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 1.1 tons of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 4.2 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Northridge, California 1994 M 6.7 160,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 7,200× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 5,100× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.2 about 1.1 tons of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 2.2× 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 since 2016 was M 4.4 on 2017-10-01 — about 57 times the energy of this one.

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

  1. 6.3 58 km E of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic · 37 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 34 km E of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 34 km E 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 18.2035, -67.6917. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Mayagüez Municipio, PR 24 km (15 mi) WSW earthquakes near Mayagüez Municipio
Rincón Municipio, PR 49 km (30 mi) ENE earthquakes near Rincón Municipio
Aguada Municipio, PR 57 km (35 mi) ENE earthquakes near Aguada Municipio
Cabo Rojo Municipio, PR 59 km (36 mi) ESE earthquakes near Cabo Rojo Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 60 km (37 mi) E earthquakes near Añasco Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 61 km (38 mi) E earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.6 8 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.9 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  3. 3.4 57 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  4. 2.4 12 km SSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  5. 3.2 2 km SSW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  6. 3.0 Mona Passage
  7. 2.9 23 km W of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  8. 3.4 56 km ESE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  9. 3.6 Mona Passage
  10. 2.8 Mona Passage
  11. 2.5 18 km WNW of Puerto Real, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.6 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico
  13. 3.8 56 km SE of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
  14. 3.0 Mona Passage
  15. 2.6 16 km W of Rincón, 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.