QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 2.3md

Earthquake near El Ojo, PR

No earthquake was likely felt in El Ojo in the 24 hours to 8:32 pm AST (00:32 UTC). The last one was M 2.2, 5 km (3 mi) ENE, at 5:05 pm AST on 8 November 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near El Ojo

This page: a magnitude 2.3 earthquake was recorded 3 km (2 mi) north-northeast of El Ojo, PR, at 2:02 am AST on 4 May 2024 (06:02 UTC), 16 km deep.

USGS: 3 km NNE of El Ojo, Puerto Rico

53 km (33 mi) SW of San Juan, PR · 26 km (16 mi) E of Ponce, PR

2:02 am AST, May 4, 2024 · · 16 km deep · released about 82 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near El Ojo Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N Coamo Municipio 8 kmSanta Isabel Municipio 9 kmJuana Díaz Municipio 13 kmSalinas Municipio 14 kmVillalba Municipio 15 kmAibonito Municipio 16 kmBarranquitas Municipio 20 kmOrocovis Municipio 22 kmPonce Municipio 24 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
2:02 am AST on 4 May 2024 ()
Where
3 km (2 mi) north-northeast of El Ojo, PR · earthquakes near El Ojo
Magnitude
M 2.3 (md)
Depth
16 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
Coamo Municipio, 8 km NNE
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 922 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 11 km (7 mi) from the epicentre. In El Ojo, 3 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.

Likely felt in: Coamo 6 km, intensity II · Santa Isabel 8 km, intensity II · Río Cañas Abajo 10 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 82 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 3.3 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 180,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 130,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 12× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 2.3 about 82 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 1,500,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists one earthquake of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 5.1 3 km W of Aguas Buenas, Puerto Rico · 36 km NE 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 18.0312, -66.3775. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
Coamo Municipio, PR 8 km (5 mi) NNE earthquakes near Coamo Municipio
Santa Isabel Municipio, PR 9 km (5 mi) S earthquakes near Santa Isabel Municipio
Juana Díaz Municipio, PR 13 km (8 mi) WSW earthquakes near Juana Díaz Municipio
Salinas Municipio, PR 14 km (9 mi) ESE earthquakes near Salinas Municipio
Villalba Municipio, PR 15 km (9 mi) NW earthquakes near Villalba Municipio
Aibonito Municipio, PR 16 km (10 mi) NE earthquakes near Aibonito Municipio

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

Aftershocks so far

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

  1. 2.1 3 km E of Pastos, Puerto Rico
  2. 1.7 2 km NE of Magas Arriba, Puerto Rico
  3. 2.2 6 km SSW of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico
  4. 2.1 1 km S of Yauco, Puerto Rico
  5. 2.3 4 km S of Indios, Puerto Rico
  6. 2.3 5 km WSW of Central Aguirre, Puerto Rico
  7. 2.8 3 km SE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  8. 2.6 2 km SE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  9. 2.6 3 km WNW of Orocovis, Puerto Rico
  10. 2.5 0 km SE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  11. 2.1 1 km SE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  12. 2.3 2 km SE of Indios, Puerto Rico
  13. 1.9 4 km SSW of Comerío, Puerto Rico
  14. 2.6 4 km SSE of Salinas, Puerto Rico
  15. 1.9 6 km SSW of Indios, 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.