QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 3.1md

Earthquake near Maricao, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in Maricao in the 24 hours to 4:35 pm AST (20:35 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 33 km (20 mi) SSE, at 3:45 am AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Maricao

This page: a magnitude 3.1 earthquake was recorded 7 km (4 mi) west of Maricao, PR, at 11:06 pm AST on 4 March 2024 (03:06 UTC), 115 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 6 km W of Maricao, Puerto Rico

11 km (7 mi) ESE of Mayagüez, PR · 107 km (66 mi) WSW of San Juan, PR

11:06 pm AST, Mar 4, 2024 · · 115 km deep · released about 1,500 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Maricao Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Germán Municipio 8 kmHormigueros Municipio 9 kmLas Marías Municipio 9 kmMaricao Municipio 12 kmSabana Grande Municipio 15 kmAñasco Municipio 15 kmSan Sebastián Municipio 19 kmLares Municipio 22 kmLajas Municipio 22 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
11:06 pm AST on 4 March 2024 ()
Where
7 km (4 mi) west of Maricao, PR · earthquakes near Maricao
Magnitude
M 3.1 (md)
Depth
115 km below the surface
Felt
1 report · strongest reported intensity I
Nearest
San Germán Municipio, 8 km S
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 982 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 Maricao, 7 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). 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.

Earthquakes near other towns within 30 km: Hormigueros, Mayagüez, San Germán, Sabana Eneas, Monte Grande, Espino.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 1,500 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 6.7 220,000× the energy of this one
  2. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 9,800× the energy of this one
  3. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 6,900× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 3.1 about 1,500 lb of TNT
  5. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 this one released 1.6× 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 6.4 on 2020-01-07 — about 78,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 5 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.3 6 km WNW of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico · 34 km NNW of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 15 km WNW of San Antonio, Puerto Rico · 46 km NNW of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 4 km E of Moca, Puerto Rico · 25 km N of this epicentre
  4. 5.2 19 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 34 km W of this epicentre
  5. 5.1 21 km SW of Stella, Puerto Rico · 34 km W 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 18.1770, -67.0448. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Germán Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) S earthquakes near San Germán Municipio
Hormigueros Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) WSW earthquakes near Hormigueros Municipio
Las Marías Municipio, PR 9 km (6 mi) NE earthquakes near Las Marías Municipio
Maricao Municipio, PR 12 km (7 mi) E earthquakes near Maricao Municipio
Sabana Grande Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) SE earthquakes near Sabana Grande Municipio
Añasco Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NW earthquakes near Añasco Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 1.9 2 km WNW of Santo Domingo, Puerto Rico
  2. 2.3 5 km SE of Maria Antonia, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.1 0 km NNE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.6 5 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.5 6 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.2 3 km S of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  7. 3.1 0 km N of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.2 8 km SW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  9. 1.6 3 km SE of Palomas, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.2 6 km WSW of Guánica, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.3 6 km WSW of Fuig, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.1 6 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  13. 2.2 10 km SSE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  14. 1.7 3 km SW of La Parguera, Puerto Rico
  15. 2.3 3 km N of Guayanilla, 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.